- Key insight: Discover how poor workplace culture suppresses benefits use and stifles innovation.
- What's at stake: Employee disengagement risks reduced experimentation, growth, and higher replacement costs.
- Expert quote: Unmet emotional needs cut effort, commitment, and raise exit intent, says JP Pawliw, IHHP.
Source: Bullets generated by AI with editorial review
A majority of employees describe their workplace culture as toxic and their mental health status as poor or fair, according to a recent survey, and that can
Eighty percent of employees defined their company culture as toxic in a survey by employment platform Monster, and when asked about their mental health status, 71% classified theirs as poor or fair, with 59% citing their workplace culture as the main cause and 54%
This environment also impacts workers' use of benefits: A survey from Flexjobs found that despite most employees
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When leaders don't design a culture that balances expectations with support, a far less favorable one will form by default, said JP Pawliw, president of IHHP, a provider of emotional intelligence training and corporate culture development. When employees are struggling with a fear-based climate, lack of boundaries, micromanagement or any other negative cultural aspect, according to Pawliw, their emotional health suffers, motivation to engage and drive growth fade, and long-term team and business success are not sustainable.
"When these emotional needs are not met, there are three effects: One, there's less discretionary effort — not just like working longer hours, but risk-taking. Two, you're not as emotionally committed, and three, leaving intention goes up," said Pawliw, who has coached leaders in industries ranging from healthcare to professional sports.
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When employees do trust they are part of a caring culture, he said, they feel safe to speak up and use their benefits to maintain wellness and help their company grow. Pawliw shared why benefits communication is evidence of a caring culture, what happens when workers don't feel comfortable taking risks, and the cost of a "turnstile" culture.
Why should managers encourage employees to understand and use their benefits?
For a manager to go out of their way to do that is what drives [employees to say] I feel so good about being here. This is an emotional need of mine. Now, I'm going to start to do all of those things which lead to better return for the organization, which is that experimentation, that innovation, but it won't come unless you meet that need. It just behooves an organization and their managers to be really sharp on the benefits side, because that creates a predictability that helps people take risks, and it's truly a win-win.
When employees exist in a fear-based culture, how does that stunt business growth?
In a fear-based culture, you're not sure how your manager is going to show up, and based on the stress in the environment or a situation, they may show up in different ways. You then have low trust and belonging because of the low connection. Our brains, in general, were not built for performance, they were built for protection, so the issue is you're walking around on eggshells. We know categorically that the highest performing teams take interpersonal risk. They name an inconvenient truth, they have the full conversation. They do all the things that are required to adapt to an AI world. If people are afraid, they don't do this because … of their fear of what might happen.
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How does caring drive innovation and better business outcomes?
When we look at managers who do a great job, it's both high connection and high courage, but the behaviors underneath those two dimensions are really important. It's high care and high accountability. [When] that high care is clear and managers bring in more accountability, higher standards and more expectations, you can handle it, because you know where it's coming from.
How does building a people-first culture help a business costwise?
When you look at the cost of replacing an individual right now, it's not smart business sense. It's such short-term thinking; it's [a transactional outlook] where maybe we can get a good quarter or a good year, but our best are going to be the [turnstile employees]. Business people often say 'We're about the numbers.' If you're really about the numbers, then what are you doing?
