Empowering Employees Through Workplace Culture
Empowering employees to stimulate their well-being and job satisfaction can have immense implications for teamwork and the overall success of a business, even more so when it’s integrated into the company culture.
Over the years, numerous studies have explored the relationship between employee wellness and job motivation, revealing that these two expand and decrease proportionally. Or, as employee well-being increases, so does their job motivation, and vice versa.
The post-pandemic workplace followed by the Great Resignation phenomenon further strengthened the connection between the two.
According to a Prudential survey, for 50% of the respondents, the pandemic enabled more control over their career decisions. That created a shift in employee priorities, putting the main focus on a better work-life balance, growth opportunities, and mutual respect.
As for employers, now it’s their turn to make the next move.
Creating a positive work environment that empowers employees should be one of their priorities. Most executives or a whopping 94%, acknowledge that distinct work culture is key to success.
More importantly, 88% of job seekers also agree with the sentiment.
Thus, fostering a workplace that empowers people could benefit both sides, whether it’s by increasing trust, boosting employee morale, or attracting and retaining top talent. However, before exploring how this can ensue, let’s take a step back to break down all aspects of employee empowerment as part of the workplace culture.
What is Employee Empowerment?
Employee empowerment is a management philosophy that attained mass acceptance and popularity in the past decade.
As the responsibility of the company leadership and managers, it consists of the actions businesses take to give autonomy to their staff and support them in reaching their potential.
To empower usually means listening to and supporting people to set them up for success. That way, they feel like they could accomplish anything. And, when done right, they will.
It’s also a way to give people a voice in the organization, encourage them to take on additional responsibilities that would help their career, and provide tools and resources to do that.
Yet, employee empowerment is never a one-fits-all solution.
It can differ based on the business, the people working there, and even the type of work. Regardless of an organization’s approach, the end goal remains the same — creating a better working environment for everyone.
So, just how does one do that, and why?
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What Are the Benefits of Employee Empowerment?
We must examine the two opposing managerial approaches to answer why companies should adopt a culture that empowers employees.
Namely, some businesses tend to micromanage their employees.
That can be a massive setback for the overall work performance since this leadership style revolves around control and distrust between the management and the employees.
As opposed to micromanaging, empowerment as a management approach means giving workers the freedom to operate independently and be more comfortable taking risks and challenging their skills. That, in turn, can benefit the whole company and all parties involved.
Improved Productivity & Job Satisfaction
Employee empowerment gives workers more control over their performance, resulting in better productivity and a more content workforce.
The numbers back up this claim.
Statistics show that when holding a position of power, job satisfaction grows up to 26%.
With high satisfaction comes higher productivity.
Many studies have exhibited similar results, indicating that a happy employee performs better than one who doesn’t feel comfortable in the workplace. A Harvard Business Review analysis suggests that on average, content happy workers showed 31% increased productivity and 37% higher sales.
Ultimately, a Zenger Folkman study explores the significant difference in work engagement between employees who felt empowered 79% compared to those who didn’t, 24%. In addition, the research shows that only four percent would deliver extra work if they don’t feel empowered, in contrast to 67% when employee empowerment is high.
The numbers state the obvious. One of the most significant benefits of employee empowerment is how it improves overall job satisfaction and productivity.
That’s a win-win for both workers and organizations.
Employee Retention
A Gallup study estimates that the annual employee turnover rate of 26.3% costs U.S. businesses up to a trillion dollars.
That’s money spent on replacing individual employees that could’ve been saved if companies invested in things that drive employee retention. In fact, of workers who quit their job voluntarily, 52% said that the organization could’ve done something to prevent them from resigning.
One of the driving factors of employee retention is empowerment.
And it’s no surprise that employees who feel motivated and empowered on the job are also more loyal and would rather stay.
Results from one study indicate that autonomy and empowerment ultimately reduce an employee’s voluntary turnover in a team setting, particularly when it comes from a “high-status” person like a supervisor or a team leader. It just goes on to show that, ultimately, employee empowerment stems from good leadership.
Trust in Leadership
Another significant benefit of employee empowerment is how it translates into leadership trust.
A meta-analysis by Harvard Business Review exploring data from more than 30,000 employees revealed that leaders who empower have a much more positive impact on employees. They inspire workers to help others, generate new ideas, and support their organization.
These leaders also enjoy more trust since they show that they believe in their employees’ capabilities to execute more complex tasks. That way, companies can build confident teams with the capacity to accomplish collective goals.
However, although it provides an opportunity to set new objectives and take on new responsibilities within the organization, leadership should not be used as an excuse to give people an excessive workload.
Understanding Workplace Culture
Workplace culture is an environment that shares the same values, beliefs, and goals within an organization.
However, as a mixture of different characters, individual views, and other societal and cultural differentiations, it’s the employer’s responsibility to find common ground and set up positive values. So, by paving the way for a specific behavior and reinforcing it through different methods, the company creates core values and rewards employees who obtain and demonstrate them.
Building a culture around empowering employees can be challenging for any employer.
Regardless, its benefits and importance make it a priority for organizations that want to increase productivity and performance, boost morale and improve overall teamwork.
The Importance of Building Workplace Culture Around Employee Empowerment
The traditional workplace is slowly disappearing.
With everything that’s been going on in the past two years and the arrival of a new generation of workers, companies are moving away from traditional values.
Now, it’s all about organizational learning, cross-cultural diversity, and effectiveness through empowerment. Companies are giving people a choice and are more flexible than they used to be.
With hybrid work, flexible hours, and even a potential shortening of the workweek, these contemporary challenges require management to take on the responsibility to transform the workplace culture and rebuild it on solid values.
As an isolated measure, employee empowerment can immediately benefit the company. However, incorporating a workplace culture of autonomy and accountability can drive long-term efficiency and transform a company.
Thus, its importance is paramount.
Creating Positive Culture to Reinvent the Workplace
Building a company culture around employee empowerment creates an environment that promotes positive employee values, leading to improved productivity. In fact, the stronger the company culture is, the more a company can grow. Statistics show that businesses with a strong culture can increase revenue growth four times.
However, today’s workplace is significantly different than it was a couple of years ago. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, followed by a series of disrupting events, really shifted the way we perceive work, bringing to the surface many problems. Albeit usually, the workplace culture changes gradually, this time, it was a much faster process. Employers and employees had to adapt, and it was a challenging time to keep a positive company culture.
After all of this, it’s time to reinvent the workplace.
To do that, employers must focus on solving the problems that emerged and create a better organizational culture that puts employee needs first.
Creating Clear Goals & Rewards
Employee empowerment through company culture demands having clear goals within the organization.
Also, a transparent policy on progression, promotion, and measurable performance will empower employees to embrace the company culture further so that workers get rewarded when they achieve a goal.
That way, employers can’t take advantage of their staff and increase their workload. Instead, they will only create healthy competition and a more positive feeling in the workplace, individually, and between coworkers.
Establishing Mutual Trust
Trust goes both ways.
That should be the principle of every empowerment-focused company culture. Because for the company to succeed, the leadership must rely on their workers, and vice versa. Thus, motivating employees to pursue opportunities can help them become more confident in their work and improve their overall performance.
As a result, this can substantially benefit businesses and save them thousands of dollars by lowering the turnover rate.
In fact, statistics show that high-trust companies reported 74% less work stress, 106% more energy, 50% increased productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% life satisfaction, and 40% less burnout.
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Focusing on Employee Wellness
Finally, if we’re talking about reinventing the workplace, we must consider how this will affect the mental well-being of workers. Although money is still a huge priority, people now care for their psychological and physical health in the workplace much more than they used to.
So, empowerment means nothing if the employer disregards how this will impact their workers’ health.
Employee wellness statistics show that 70% of employees in wellness programs reported higher job satisfaction. It also improves morale, increases productivity, and reduces sick days.
Conclusion
A team won’t reach its full potential until all members do.
Personal empowerment helps employees set goals and take on new challenges and opportunities that will positively affect their careers. But, building a company culture of accountability and positive values and giving more power to workers could help both them and the organization grow.
Listening to the needs of the people to determine the right empowerment strategies for the company is a good start. From there, it’s only a matter of time and dedication from all organizational levels until empowerment-enhanced company culture transforms the workplace.
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