Survey Finds Company Culture Influences Worker Productivity

According to the recently released 2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Culture Survey, nearly 73% of U.S. employees think their company’s culture impacts their ability to do quality work, and 72% believe that company culture drives their work productivity and efficiency.

The study also found that 65% of the workers surveyed believe workplace culture impacts their ability to serve customers, while 64% said it drives their innovation and creativity.

When asked which organizational culture elements were most important, employees chose respect (74%), integrity (57%), stability (55%), ethical treatment (53%), and employee well-being (51%).

“It wasn’t long ago that employees were walking out the door in droves during the Great Resignation, largely dissatisfied with their organizations, their treatment by employers, and burnout,” said Melissa Jezior, Eagle Hill Consulting president and CEO. “While employment trends have shifted as the economy has softened, employers can’t lose sight of the fundamental importance of a strong culture. Not only does it help retain your best workers, a healthy culture drives peak performance, innovation, and customer service.”

The survey additionally revealed the following key findings:

• When queried about who impacts organizational culture, 86% cited their colleagues, 79% pointed to their boss, 75% indicated human resources management, and 69% said executive leadership.
• Actions employers could take to create a healthy workplace include investing in improving employee well-being (51%), holding workers accountable for bad behavior (46%), and leadership development (42%).
• When it comes to employee well-being, only 30% said their company had increased its focus during the last year, 54% said the focus on employee well-being remained steady, and 17% noted a loss in such focus. 
• When asked who they trust in their workplace, 45% trust their colleagues, 42% trust their boss, and only 13% trust executive leadership. 
• When looking at their organization’s culture compared to that of others, 39% said their company’s culture is better than most organizations, 51% said it was about the same, and 10% said it’s worse.

“The most successful companies are intentional about their culture and employee well-being,” Jezior added. “Company culture just doesn’t just magically happen. Leaders must define their company culture, manage and monitor culture, and model the behaviors they want to see across the workforce. You can bet that when culture isn’t a high priority, a company isn’t competitive, recruitment and attrition are chronic problems, and reputational issues emerge.”

The research, published by Eagle Hill Consulting, was conducted by survey company Ipsos in July and included 1,315 U.S. workers, randomly selected across the nation.