Fostering a Positive Workplace Culture
Hi, I’m Merly. I am the founder of Well & Being, and I began my time in the hospitality industry at the age of 14. In the latter part of my career, I was a chef for over 10 years in kitchens in London before retraining as a therapist and therapeutic coach.
Since 2018, I have been using my therapeutic training and knowledge as a hospitality professional to provide psychological support, as well as provide strategies to guide business and on how to improve their workplace culture, making them more enjoyable, safer, productive and sustainable environments for individuals to thrive in
Negative and ‘toxic’ work environments are harmful to the well-being of employees and impacts team morale and productivity. It is highly likely that employees will leave or will do the bare minimum (also known as ‘quietly quitting’) due to feelings such as unhappiness, frustration, a lack of trust, lack of safety, or underappreciation.
Fostering a positive culture improves relationships among colleagues and increases collaboration, motivation, pride, learning and engagement. It can change the landscape of how we feel about our jobs, as well as how we feel about ourselves and others. The reality is that working in catering can be challenging and is very physical labour. But that doesn’t mean it can’t be, at the very least, as pleasant, safe and enjoyable as possible.
Here are the top factors that create an unhappy workforce. You may want to pause on this slide and reflect on factors that are problematic within your culture today and the areas that need to be worked on.
The good news is that creating a more positive workplace culture is very possible! But it does take deliberate action from you and your team. Positive workplace culture is based on five pillars. Let’s go through them and explore what strategies can be implemented in your culture. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the idea of changing a culture. Therefore, my advice to you is to choose one area that currently needs the most attention and work through them as a matter of priority. Even the smallest changes can create a huge impact.
Protection From Harm
Protection from harm means ensuring that staff feel safe and secure at work. This means that they are not being mentally, emotionally or physically harmed and that their basic needs of survival and security are being met. Communicating and actioning zero tolerance towards abuse and harassment, bullying, and any violence is paramount. Victims and witnesses must not be ignored or discriminated against, but instead supported and protected from further harm.
Here are some ways that you can increase the safety and security of your workplace:
Create a clear reporting chain so anyone who feels unsafe for whatever reason knows who they can talk to. The reporting chain should be communicated to each team member. If their manager is the perpetrator of harm then it is important for them to know that who they should go to instead.
Action training and policies around safeguarding issues such as bullying and harassment, health and safety, and mental health.
Anonymity can have a transformative effect on how safe people feel at work and their confidence to speak out. This can be useful if you need to discuss sensitive topics or other issues such as kitchen equipment that is unsafe and needs fixing. There are a number ways of doing this, for example, by using an anonymous feedback form or a physical suggestion box.
2. Connection and Community
A sense of belonging and being part of a community reduces feelings of isolation and stress, which contributes to better mental health and well-being. It's what allows us, as humans, to feel connected to the people and places – our communities – where we spend so much of our time.
The kitchen is all about teamwork and working together. If employees don't experience a sense of belonging, this creates a lack of security, which affects trust, performance, and how they see themselves and their abilities. This can be detrimental to the fabric of any kitchen or any other workplace that relies on teamwork.
Here are some ways you can create a stronger sense of community:
Recognising and appreciating employees by saying thank you to your staff and recognising their contribution helps employees feel like they are valued and belong, and will be more motivated to come back and do it all over again.
Prioritise catchups with your team, both formally and informally. Having a 5-minute team meeting each day before service begins and micro catchups with each team member every week can be so beneficial to strengthening the two-way bond with your team and improving communication.
Celebrate whatever you can is one of the best ways to build team camaraderie. Whether it’s a birthday or an accomplishment in their personal life or at work, take any opportunity you can to pause and give team members some recognition as a community.
3. Work-Life Harmony
A work-life harmony is an approach that acknowledges and integrates work and personal life. It means that we understand that both aspects cannot always be separate, and flexibility regarding this is an important leadership tool in problem-solving at work.
Autonomy is the ability to make your own decisions about what to do. It is likely that a team member will decide to take the take day off due to illness or want to swap a shift. Being respectful of their requests and the need for flexibility at times is paramount to employees feeling valued and supported.
Here are some ways you can increase more flexibility in your approach to your team and respect the autonomy of others:
Be a good role model and demonstrate the behaviour that you wish your team to mirror. For example, being open to trying new ideas, helping a team member to swap shifts when they’re struggling or jumping in to help a colleague finish a task.
Be mindful of times when you are reacting rather than responding. Reacting is a spontaneous reaction that is driven by emotion. A response is a more thoughtful, logical, intelligent response. It’s always more beneficial to voice your thoughts and feelings in a more productive context. For example, to move forward in meetings and over other forms of communication, offer solutions rather than complaints as the basis of the meetings.
One sure way you can support and respect a person’s work-life balance is by being mindful of how you design your team’s rota. For example, remember that humans need adequate rest between shifts and need a break on shift. No human is going to do their best work if they are exhausted or haven’t had time to eat and hydrate during their shift.
4. Mattering at Work
It’s important to remember that your employees have a right to be treated with dignity and respect in the workplace. Embed dignity and respect into behaviour and action and it will increase the overall wellbeing of your team and job satisfaction.
We can show our colleagues they matter by:
Being supportive. Showing that you care about your colleagues by supporting them and acknowledging their achievements and also their difficulties and struggles when they arise.
Challenging poor behaviour when needed. The kitchen can get a little heated due to stress, pressure and misunderstandings, as well as other reasons. Or poor behaviour is brushed off as ‘banter’. But brushing off bad behaviour and not dealing with it gives the bad behaviour permission to continue. It needs to be dealt with. Talk about what's happened with those involved, the impact it's having, and how to improve things.
Review and update your policies to ensure they are aligned with current best practices and legal requirements
5. Opportunity For Growth
Humans need to be stimulated, and we are at our best when we feel like are growing and our efforts are appreciated. Part of working in the kitchen is repetitive work, such as making the same dishes or sticking to the same stations. Repetitive work can negatively impact our mental well-being and can hinder our sense of growth and value.
You can create opportunities to grow by:
Setting new challenges for each other. Whether it be a new task such as a new recipe or a different workstation for the day or teaching each other about a new ingredient.
Look at failure constructively. Another way to see failure is that there is no failure, only feedback. See each challenge as a learning curve and an opportunity to grow as a team. For example, it may be learning to do something more efficiently as a team or finding better ways to communicate or execute breakfast, lunch or dinner service.
Set achievable targets. If a task seems too complicated, or unachievable then it’s likely a person will feel overwhelmed and disheartened. Help each other to succeed through collaboration and problem-solving.
Communication is Key
Communication has been a common topic throughout this module and that’s because communication changes the landscape of workplace culture, for the better or worse. Encouraging open communication and using respectful language in all your communications. Better communication creates psychological safety in the workplace. Psychological safety is the term used when we feel confident to take risks and communicate at work without fear of punishment or ridicule. For example, demonstrating that it is safe to:
Share ideas
Ask questions
Express concerns
Admit mistakes
Sharing feedback
Working through disagreements
Here are some final tips when it comes to improving your communication:
Be clear and concise. Communication is primarily about word choice. And when it comes to word choice, less is more. For example, be clear about expectations and keep it simple so everyone can understand.
And finally, Validate the person speaking to you, we all deserve to be heard. Effective communication isn’t complete without listening. Remember to listen carefully to others. You can do this by remembering to:
Stop
Breathe, by breathing this helps us to be present.
Listen
Respond
