In general terms ,culture is the man-made part of the environment which provides a comprehensive framework for understanding the way of life of a person,his beliefs,values,norms,behaviour,etc. However if specifically, culture is conceptualised with respect to the nature of the workplace, then it provides understanding of the various facets of work behaviour.
Work culture means work related activities and the meanings attached to such activities in the light of the norms and values pertaining to work in an organisation.These are established because of various interactive activities that takes place between an organisation and its employees' regarding the nature and concept of the work. Work culture may be examined at four levels within an organisation:-
- Organisational goals and objectives and the way they are perceived and reacted to by the employees.
- Technology of an organisation, its structure,work forms,financial position,etc.
- Social groups ,norms,values,power structure,role relations,etc.
- Work behaviour and other work related activities.
Making oneself adapt to the various aspects of workplace,culture such as communication patterns, hierarchy, dress code if any, workspace and most importantly working and behavioural patterns of the boss as well as the co-workers is very important.
The adjustment to the workplace culture in a company can be intensely stressful.A sound management practice should also take into consideration the factor of emotional intelligence of employees.This will help in creating an organisational culture which will not only contribute to the professional well-being and motivation of employees and enable them to self-actualise, but also help to counter stress at work and thus increase the capability of an organisation to attract, retain and motivate talented employees.
Maladjustment to workplace cultures may lead to subtle conflicts with colleagues or even with superiors.Thus,human resource management policies of a company should be such framed that they are able to foster the growth of the employees as well as the organisation.
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