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Pam Marmon
3 Keys to Cultivate the Best Place to Work
What do the ‘best places to work for’ have in common? Perhaps that they are distinctly different yet uniquely in tune with their culture and the set of behaviors that form their organization.
While there is much scientific research on this topic, many organizations neglect the application of best practices in the workplace. You can change that!
If you lead an organization or a team, how are you applying scientifically based research to create an environment where people thrive?
In the book, Best Places to Work, Ron Friedman, who is a social psychologist with an emphasis on human behavior, provides the user guide to workplace psychology. The book bursts with scientific research and offers practical application to bridge the gap between science and the workplace.
Friedman states, “Psychological needs are at the heart of employee engagement.” What people need is psychologically fulfilling experiences. They need to feel competent at work, connected to the people they work with, and experience autonomy in how they perform their work.
Here are the top three scientifically based actions any company can incorporate into their organizational culture:
- You need to encourage friendships at work.
People have a fundamental need for connection. We need to know that those who we work with appreciate us and value our contributions. People are more likely to become friends when they have more frequent interactions. Create opportunities for cross-functional teams to connect. Companies that cultivate an environment where friendships at work can flourish benefit from more engaged employees, which is linked to increase in performance.
- You need to make jobs get harder.
Recall the last time you played a video game. As the game progressed, the challenges increased. In the workplace, many employees experience a decrease in job difficulty as they master the skills. What can we learn from playing video games? We know what the goals are, we get immediate feedback on our performance, and we are recognized when we experience success. We become more competent as the game increases in difficulty, we learn new skills, and we grow in competence. Imagine that model at your workplace.
- You need to allow for autonomy at work.
Do you want to be in control of your destiny? Most people would answer ‘yes’. Autonomy is about allowing your employees to feel empowered to do the work. You can share how the work adds value to the organization and your clients and ask open-ended questions such as “What can I do to help you lead this?” People who find autonomy in their work feel empowered and in control, which leads to more fulfilling work experience and higher engagement.
Has your organization successfully incorporated connection, challenge, and autonomy in the workplace?
EXTRA CREDIT! If you think you’ve mastered the three actions above, here is your next challenge:
- We human beings are limited by our mental and physical ability to work non-stop, which is why we need to replenish mentally by incorporating a walk, a nap, or a break in order to achieve top performance in the workplace.
What can your organization do to encourage creativity, which results from mentally and physically recharging?
2. Rather than only recognizing an employee for a job well done, also acknowledge the contributions of the employee’s family and show gratitude for their sacrifices.
What are meaningful ways you can incorporate a broader recognition that is inclusive of employees’ family members?
3. Integrate work and life for a more fulfilling experience. A work-life balance is hard to achieve, therefore strive for bringing work and life together for a seamless transition, not separation.
What important life activities, such as volunteering, can you integrate into how your organization operates?
4. Celebrate employees who try new things to cultivate a culture comfortable with failure. Rather than only recognizing successful outcomes, encourage employees to try new way of doing work, which will inevitably increase the instances of failure. Align how leaders behave to what they communicate, so employees feel safe to experiment and be creative.
What is one change your company can implement to encourage and celebrate employees who try new things?
According to Friedman, “Engagement is not about the tasks. It’s about the conditions around it.” The great places to work for understand the psychological needs of people and provide the necessary experiences, which lead to greater work satisfaction, increased performance, and frankly, a happier world for everyone.