Unhealthy to Strategic Workplace Culture: The Business Case
This chart on Workplace Culture, Relational Leadership and Worldview Intelligence identifies some of the challenges that are present in unhealthy workplace cultures, leading to characteristics like low trust, poor relationships, exclusion, harassment and discrimination. These conditions are often hidden, not talked about or ignored.
They are all conditions that are difficult and disheartening for people to work in and they get in the way of achieving optimal results. Any of these Changeable Conditions can be addressed through a Strategic Workplace Culture Initiative and become Achievable Outcomes. Achievable Outcomes are characteristics of a healthy culture and include Worldview Intelligence, Relational Leadership, Role Clarity, Decision-Making Clarity and Thriving Employees.

Worldviews and Their Impact on Workplace Culture
Worldviews can impact the workplace negatively, creating discord, poor performance, lack of commitment or innovation, conflict and even toxicity. Or, they can contribute to a positive, productive, high-performing and innovative workplace environment characterized by high trust and strong relationships. As noted above, characteristics that contribute to negative or unhealthy workplace cultures are Changeable Conditions and characteristics of healthy or Strategic Workplace Cultures are Achievable Outcomes.
This has real and measurable financial effects for a company. Change is possible when the future vision for the company culture is clearly articulated and an assessment of the current state provides a baseline, both quantitative and qualitative, to identify gaps and ways to measure improvement and success. A Strategic Workplace Culture Initiative addresses this.
Costs and Characteristics of Negative Workplace Cultures
Companies with low trust, challenged relationships, and even toxic workplace cultures show a strong correlation with employee stress and financial costs to the company. These costs are related to sick leave and absenteeism, high turnover, employee dissatisfaction, decreases in productivity, increases in health insurance claims, including short- and longer-term disability, and increased mental health costs.
Relationships in unhealthy workplace cultures are often strained and trust is lacking. People compete for time, resources and recognition, rather than collaborate with each other. When relationships are challenged, time is wasted in work-arounds for communication, relationship and achieving results. This is also draining for individuals working in these circumstances. Feelings of exhaustion, frustration and more are communicated in more than just words; they are communicated through the unspoken mechanism of culture that include the “vibe” of the workplace. Lack of alignment with company, division, department or team vision, mission and goals means achieving results takes longer and they can be compromised, all of which are Changeable Conditions.
What Does a Thrivable and Strategic Workplace Culture Require?

Organizations, divisions, departments and teams intending to thrive, now and in the future, must be strategic about their workplace culture. This means there will be an alignment between organizational vision, goals and outcomes and employee actions, behaviors and motivations in the workplace. Yet, while executives and employees believe a distinct organizational culture is important to success, there is often a disconnect between talking about having a healthy workplace culture and creating and sustaining one, which can lead to hidden, negative dynamics.
It is possible to build a roadmap for designing, implementing and sustaining a Strategic Workplace Culture, resulting in a competitive advantage for your organization, not just in recruitment and retention but in customer service, responsiveness and engagement of audiences or stakeholders as well. In companies that excel in customer services, employees are also happier and more satisfied with their working conditions. To achieve this, business processes need to be put in place that draw direct lines between vision, values and behaviors or actions, making the interconnections clear.