Chapter 6. How Do I Build a Positive Work Environment? (Effective Work Culture or Setting)

Leadership Positive Work Environment Challenge Organizations develop unconscious patterns of how work is done that, left unattended, may lead to cynicism, disorganization, redundancy, or lethargy. Great leaders recognize and establish positive work environments that inspire employees, meet customer expectations, and give investors confidence.

How long does it take to get a feel for the atmosphere in a work setting you walk into? Think of walking into a doctor’s office, a store, a restaurant, a classroom, or a plant. Within minutes or at most hours you have a pretty good sense of what it feels like to work there. Companies track employee attitudes, productivity, and retention to put numbers behind these gut impressions, but leader and customer perceptions of a work environment are often spot on. What exactly is it we are picking up on? Does it have to do with the pictures on the walls? The looks on people’s faces? The casual conversations in the halls?