Cultural issues 'largely underestimated' in workplaces: report

Employers are being urged to invest in fostering a healthy and productive workplace amid "largely underestimated" cultural issues at work, according to a new report.

The Arbinger Institute's 2024 Workplace Culture Report revealed that only 27% of 440 surveyed business professionals agree that company culture impacts their ability to meet goals.

This is despite an organisation's top challenges in achieving team goals being rooted in company culture issues, such as lack of leadership, unclear strategic priorities, employee productivity, and retention, according to the report.

"Cultural issues are largely underestimated as the culprit for top challenges," the report read.

Ray Smith, SVP of People and Culture at the Arbinger Institute, said culture is the backbone of every organisation and employers should invest in both employees and leadership to ensure healthy and productive workplaces.

"Improving company culture is a strategic necessity in order to sustain growth and thrive today, particularly when there is economic uncertainty or other challenges," Smith said in a statement.

Higher workplace culture rates

In fact, the report found that higher workplace culture satisfaction rates were found among organisations that develop leaders who empower others and promote the development of engaged and accountable employees.

Only 29% of professionals surveyed say that their company places a high priority on developing leaders. This group, however, is more than 4x more satisfied with their company’s culture than all others.

Only 30% of professionals surveyed say their organization prioritizes fostering an inclusive and collaborative work environment, found the Arbinger Institute.

And only 28% say that their company prioritizes the development of engaged and accountable employees. And while only 21% rate communication/collaboration at their organization as excellent, the professionals working for organizations that do prioritize engagement and accountability are nearly 5x more likely to rate communications and collaboration as excellent than all others.

^{Source: The Arbinger Institute}

Organisations that prioritise inclusivity are also more likely to have professionals who rate their company innovation as excellent.

"Our survey shows that professionals who are most satisfied with their company culture are 6x more likely to rate their company's efficiency as excellent," said Mitch Warner, managing partner of the Arbinger Institute, in a statement.

"By focusing on culture, companies can more easily hire and retain the right talent, mitigate performance-related issues, and ultimately maximise success."