Why organisational culture needs to transcend the office - Ismail Mulla

One of the things that has come to the fore over the past two years has been the importance of culture in business.
Jodie Hill, founder of Thrive Law, says workers have shown loyalty over the pandemic - often working longer hours to ensure work gets done.Jodie Hill, founder of Thrive Law, says workers have shown loyalty over the pandemic - often working longer hours to ensure work gets done.
Jodie Hill, founder of Thrive Law, says workers have shown loyalty over the pandemic - often working longer hours to ensure work gets done.

It’s something that previously firms didn’t really need to put much emphasis on. For many, paying lip service was enough.

However, when you no longer have your staff in front of you, the importance of culture becomes apparent.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I couldn’t help feeling this when I was taking down the reaction from business owners to Prime Minister Boris Johnson and the co-chairman of the Conservatives, Oliver Dowden.

Ian McCann says culture needs to go beyond just an office.Ian McCann says culture needs to go beyond just an office.
Ian McCann says culture needs to go beyond just an office.

It took me back to the initial days of the pandemic as the dark clouds of coronavirus rolled in just as the sun was beginning to show in the skies above. You could tell by the tenor of their voices that people were worried.

But following the grind of the initial weeks of lockdown, it became apparent that the majority of business owners had one valuable asset on their side – their employees.

When they all had to jettison the familiar environment of an office, they perched themselves at kitchen tables, on sofas and on the edge of their beds and carried on working.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Many had to juggle facilitating school lessons for their children while still juggling their responsibilities at work.

It meant that the nine to five became a six to midnight for some but they did it.

Jodie Hill, founder of Thrive Law, says that this was a sign of loyalty.

“The reality is it was incredibly difficult and people clubbed together to support each other,” she said. “The reality for most working parents was they were probably doing their hours while the kids were asleep.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

There seems to be a very pernicious viewpoint amongst some people that those who have been working from home, have been phoning it in. That simply is not the case.

Yes, there are some people who may not be at their efficient best working from home and they should be given the opportunity to return to offices to enable them to function effectively.

However, the majority of the businesses that I speak to say that they are more than happy to allow their employees to work from wherever they want.

Productivity isn’t an issue for these businesses. In fact, a lot of them have seen an uplift in productivity.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

I was talking to the boss of a tech company the other day and he was telling me how one of the biggest challenges from a management perspective was ensuring his staff don’t overwork. Burnout being a big concern for him.

It got me thinking that one of the reasons why a lot of businesses have been able to adapt to these abnormal times has been due to the culture that exists within them.

Majority of those businesses that I have spoken to place a huge emphasis on culture and it goes beyond an office setting, as Ian McCann, CEO at Legal Studios, says: “If the culture of your organisation doesn’t transcend an office building then you don’t really have a culture.”

Businesses that have a positive culture can rely on their staff because chances are they’ll have recruited not just on an ability to get the job done but also on values.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

They are not the ones that are having to worry about whether their employees are sitting at home watching Bargain Hunt and leaving the work to someone else.

But a positive workplace culture is not something that you buy off the shelf. There needs to be a buy-in from across the organisation.

From the comments made by the PM and Mr Dowden, it’s clear that they don’t understand this.

It was pretty transparent why they would look to intervene in the debate of where people work from.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

A large chunk of the economy is reeling from this new hybrid approach.

However, they would have been better served being honest with the public rather than trying to paint people as work-shy with comments telling them to get off their Pelotons and creating more anxiety by saying young people risk being gossiped about unless they return to offices.

If anything, people should be encouraged to look after their wellbeing and young employees should be reassured that support is there for them if they need it.

---

Support The Yorkshire Post and become a subscriber today.

Your subscription will help us to continue to bring quality news to the people of Yorkshire. In return, you'll see fewer ads on site, get free access to our app and receive exclusive members-only offers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

So, please - if you can - pay for our work. Just £5 per month is the starting point. If you think that which we are trying to achieve is worth more, you can pay us what you think we are worth. By doing so, you will be investing in something that is becoming increasingly rare. Independent journalism that cares less about right and left and more about right and wrong. Journalism you can trust.

Thank you

James Mitchinson

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.