Positive Work Environment

Leadership plays a central part in understanding group behavior, for it’s the leader who
usually provides the direction toward goal attainment (Robbins, 2005). As a pacesetter, one
must need to interact with his/her employees as they are the very people that support the
leader’s need in order to accomplish the set objectives. To gain employee support, leaders
must be ready to understand and motivate them. A positive workplace culture improves
teamwork, raises employee morale, increases productivity and enhances employee retention
which in return provides job satisfaction, collaboration, and enhanced work performance of
the workforce (Agarwal, 2018).

Some of the ways to foster positive work culture includes:

1. Foster clear value of the organisation

Organizations should have a group of clear values that are communicated effectively
to employees so that they feel part of it. Employees should feel a personal
responsibility towards the organizational values therefore demonstrable actions are to
be taken regularly on the importance of living by the mission, vison and values. In
doing so employees will evaluate their own attitudes towards these positive core
values and take pride in them.
2. Transparent Communication
Open and transparent communication is essential to make a positive feeling within the
workplace. Organizations should empower everyone to possess their say and raise
their concerns on issues which could create a loss from the company. Continued
learning opportunities will enable interactions with others which is crucial for an
organization. Open door policies and complaint process for workplace harassment is
key for creating a positive work culture.
3. Minimize Micromanagement
Employees do not like to be micromanaged and they should be given some level of
independence which is hugely important. People wish to feel trusted that they can do
a good job, instead of unimportant and like their views don’t matter. Organizations
should allow creativity and when empowered in this way, employees are likely to
excel both harder and smarter.
 4. Show Gratitude and Reward
Show appreciation to your team members for a job well done during day-to-day
interactions and where needed. Praise publicly and criticize privately. Employees
should be treated equally and have clear goals to work towards. A transparent policy
on promotion offers the employees a chance to measure their performance.
Measurable key performance indicators will create a healthy competition, but having
clear policies can avoid negative feelings amongst team members.

Emotions and feelings bring our needs — human requirements for survival — to our attention
and strongly move us toward meeting them (Katzenbach, Gomes, & Black, 2020). Positive
feelings empower and motivate us while negative feelings block action and contribution.
Leaders must be vigilant to recognize negative gossip in workplace and should quickly work
to resolve it. Negativity within workplace drains energy and diverts attention from
productivity and performance therefore leaders got to be proactive in maintaining a positive
culture.

Positive reinforcement of employee behaviors increases employee self-esteem and self-

confidence which results in increased self-efficacy (McShane & Travaglione, 2003). A
leader should model the behavior they want to get. Engaging employees in decision making
and allowing them to express opinions about policies and procedures will increase
cohesiveness throughout the team. Creating and maintaining a positive work culture keeps
people focused and will increase morale and productivity for an organization. Negativity are
often damaging and it can be eliminated through open and positive communication which in
return would benefit everyone within the process.

References
Agarwal, P. (2018). How To Create A Positive Workplace Culture. Retrieved September 9,
2021, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/pragyaagarwaleurope/2018/08/29/how-to-
create-a-positive-work-place-culture/?sh=7c1f4ed04272

Katzenbach, J., Gomes, C., & Black, C. (2020). The Power of Feelings at Work. Retrieved
September 10, 2021, from https://www.strategy-business.com/article/The-power-of-
feelings-at-work

McShane, S., & Travaglione, T. (2003). Organizational Behavior on the Pacific Rim. North
Ryde: McGraw-Hill Australia Pty Limited.
Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organizational Behavior. New Jersey, USA: Pearson Education Inc.