Create a Work Culture Where Employees Thrive

Last time, I shared several ways nonprofit executives can take good care of themselves and keep burnout at bay.

This post I'll talk about how to build and maintain a positive, healthy culture at work so staff feel supported to do their best work and stick around.

An organization's culture is not the list of values on the website, nor the mission statement. It's not found in the annual report nor in fundraising pitches. Instead, it's the unseen, unwritten norms and attitudes that dictate how people actually treat each other at work. It's hard to pinpoint, but it's definitely felt by everyone who spends time in the organization.

Most of us have experienced an unhealthy work culture at some point. Likely, it's influenced how well you felt doing your job and why you eventually left that organization.

Paying attention to your organization's culture is an essential leadership skill, since it affects everything from staff productivity and morale to burnout and turnover. 

I had the opportunity recently to speak with leaders of three nonprofits that serve people experiencing crises. The groups' clients are individuals who have survived sexual assault and/or domestic violence or who are experiencing homelessness.

Concerned about their employees' wellbeing, the leaders have implemented numerous strategies to ensure their staff stay healthy despite the psychological challenges of regularly interacting with clients in crisis. Among the notable strategies I heard were:

• Out-of-work activities for program teams, e.g., an art class and outings to a spa or bowling alley (in one case, a local foundation supported these activities);

• Regular in-service presentations by a psychologist or social worker to remind staff of the importance of daily stress management and self-care;

• Staff meetings include time to share informally and celebrate birthdays;

• Insurance-supported therapy, e.g., an employee assistance program;

• Mental health days sanctioned as paid-time-off or sick leave;

• Intentional debriefs with staff after particularly stressful client encounters;

• Employee teams (on either workplace equity or employee satisfaction) to regularly assess staff concerns and recommend solutions;

• Anonymous suggestion box and annual staff surveys to solicit candid feedback about how well leaders are doing to ensure employee wellbing; and

• A Workplace Violence Prevention Policy at a shelter to prioritize worker safety and ensure accountability.

Other Ways Leaders Ensure Staff Wellbeing

Plan your organization’s leadership bench three to five years out, to minimize disruption in the event of executive turnover.

Hire good people and don’t micromanage them. Micromanagement is a well-known cause of burnout for both the doer and the recipient (see resource below on this topic).  (Read more)

Monitor your most passionate and dedicated staffers carefully. Look for signs that they’re regularly coming in early, staying late, working evenings and weekends or otherwise overworking. These employees may care so much about the mission, they don’t recognize cues that they’re under a lot of stress and risk burnout. (See “Passion & Burnout: What’s the Link?”)

Consider implementing a 4-day workweek. Lots of research shows it improves both staff morale and productivity. (See “Work Less, Rest More”)

Within what’s feasible, offer flexibility around where and when staff work – hybrid and/or flexible schedules. Research has shown that back to the office mandates contribute to turnover.

Educate staff on the signs of burnout, destigmatize its causes (it’s not “personal failure”) and emphasize the costs of ignoring chronic stress symptoms. Make sure employees who tell their managers that they are feeling overwhelmed, stressed or like they’re burning out are safe from reprisal and encourage them to ask for help.

Build your empathy muscle to support staff both proactively and in response to concerns. Get in the habit of asking and listening to how employees’ sustainable each person’s workload is sustainable, how well they’re balancing work with other life challenges and what elements of their job are most difficult. If any is feeling pressured, ask how they’d like to solve the problem. (See “The Business Case for Empathy”)

Set clear boundaries protecting employees’ personal time, such as avoiding meetings outside core work hours. Modify and clearly communicate about expected response time to work emails, texts and calls. If you send emails and texts outside “regular” business hours, add a caveat that you don’t expect staff to respond until they are back at work on their own work schedule

Analyze workplace policies, practices AND unwritten norms to shift the culture away from toxic stress and overwork toward a workplace that promotes wellbeing.

How is your organization ensuring employee wellbeing and preventing turnover? Please drop me a line.