Why Corporate America Is Obsessed With "Company Culture"

Corporate America has become obsessed with  company culture but those Friday afternoon   drinks and team building days are papering over  a terrible Trend which is making your workplace   miserable installing your career I really mean  the entire Apple team I can go out in a retail   store in the retail teams together we can finally  put people at the center of our technology in a   clean fast-paced friendly environment a team full  of people just like you company culture is one of   the biggest Trends in corporate management small  companies with its fewest 20 employees are hiring   culture managers whose full-time job is to promote  a collaborative and positive work environment   these are full-time employees that from a bottom  line business perspective do nothing but make the   other 19 employees more engaged with their work  culture is what keeps people around according   to a survey of job Seekers and hiring managers  conducted by Robert Half a Workforce analytics   firm 91 percent of managers said that the  candidates fit with the organizational culture was   more important than their skills and experience  hilariously a PWC survey on company culture found   that 69 of companies believed that their culture  gave them a Competitive Edge presumably the other   31 percent of companies realize that an office  didn't need a ping pong table and kombucha on   tap to be a nice place to work managing corporate  culture is expensive corporate culture managers   are earning an average salary package of one  hundred and ten thousand dollars a year according   to Glassdoor direct salary expenses also don't  capture the additional cost of running culture   events and the lost demand hours in the name  of team building it's a big investment and one   that is not paying off most workers report only  engaging in workplace team activities because   they felt they had to they said that they would  rather spend their hours at work focus on their   job tasks and after work hours with family and  friends or catching up on personal errands none   of us at work like it when some person in HR comes  and says hey guys we're doing this fun activity   from X time to X time and you had no say in the  matter but you have to go and I think we can all   agree that this is terrible even when activities  were funded by the company most workers said   that they did not enjoy what they called corporate  prescribed mandatory fun an article in the Harvard   Business Review found that these types of business  environments were one of the main reasons that top   performing employees left the business so why the  company still obsessed with their culture if it's   so expensive to maintain and only makes employees  want to quit well there are actually Four reasons   and each one is worse than the last the first  reason is that companies don't want to create   a company culture they want to create a company  cult management at large companies has discovered   that they can build an undue level of control over  their employees if they control their thinking and   behavior in the workplace Senior Management  will push the narrative that the company   stands for something greater than generating an  acceptable rate of return to its shareholders   but that's exactly what it is it's a business of  people serving people and it was is and always   will be about the culture of the company startups  are prone to do this with overly enthusiastic   Founders that think they are going to change the  world but the Harvard Business Review found again   that cult-like behaviors were most common in  the largest companies Apple Tesla Nordstrom and   Harley Davidson were the examples the report gave  ritualistic behavior is a common characteristic   of Colts and companies that take their culture  too far we have a lot of companies that really   brag about their culture it's on their website  there's even one company uh in town I won't   mention their name but will pay their employees  two thousand dollars if they tattoo sort of the   company culture on their bodies not a joke two  thousand bucks it is still mandatory for Walmart   employees to recite the company cheer once a day  in all of their stores around the country [Music] according to the company Sam Walton the company's  founder toured a Korean tennis ball Factory in   1975 that started every day with a company chant  Walton who was obsessed with Asian business   culture liked the idea so much that he made it  mandatory in all of his stores one thing that   attracted Walton to businesses in the East was  the utter devotion that employees have for their   company and its Founders employees routinely  put in twice their salaried hours to impress   rigid corporate leadership a trend that business  owners back in America were Keen to replicate   Sam Walton's daily chant may be a cup full of  concentrated cringe but other companies take it a   step further by employing another tactic of Colts  language control when employees start working at   Disney theme parks they are given a language guide  when you get a job with a Walt Disney Company it's   not just getting a job it's like entering a new  community I would have already been fired because   there are no employees at Disney parks there are  only cast members and there are no customers only   guests and employees are not at work they are  on stage employees are reprimanded from going   off script Disney knows that controlling the  language their employees use will get them to   put in extra effort around their parks Disney  is not alone Google employees call themselves   googlers unless they have just joined and then  they are nooglers Amazon employees are amazonians   and Facebook employees are metamates it sounds  harmless and some people might even call it good   management but it's still mental conditioning  with an objective what's even scarier is that   it works I'm sure that you can think of a lot of  jargon terms and acronyms unique to your company   language and rituals are a big part of any culture  but in corporatism their aim is to get employees   to think of the company and their job as something  bigger than just a place they go to do tasks to   earn money for folks who want to be part of  something bigger than themselves a Workforce   that thinks their company is more important  than the compensation that it provides will   accept lower salaries and remain more loyal than  they would to a company that doesn't pull the same   tricks Google's corporate culture is legendary  for free salad bars and encouraging creativity   but that's only in place to get googlers to stay  in the office longer and share their best ideas   with a trillion dollar company Goldman Sachs is  culture is to be home of the smartest hardest   working people that want to get paid more than  everyone else for being better than everyone   else but that closure lets them work their new  analysts 80 hours a week a month straight because   they know the culture they were signing up for  if corporate culture is starting to sound less   like an annoying business buzzword and more like  a horrifying Trend that was only the first reason   of four so it's time to learn how money Works  to find out why Corporate America has become   obsessed with company culture this week's lesson  was sponsored by incogni unbeknownst to you it is   highly likely that your personal data is being  traded on the internet without your knowledge   or consent alarmingly in 2021 privacy breaches  experience a 68 increase compared to the previous   year on a positive note you have the right to  safeguard your privacy by asking data Brokers   to delete any information they possess about you  however the downside is that accomplishing this   manually can take years when they possess your  personal information data Brokers expose you to   the danger of their database being hacked thus  jeopardizing your privacy thankfully in incognia   is at your service incognate liaises with the  data Brokers for you demanding a removal of your   personal data and addressing any objections they  may have the process is incredibly straightforward   simply create an account identify whose data  needs to be removed authorizing Cognito to act   on your behalf and they will contact data Brokers  to request the removal of your personal data it's   as simple as that entrusting Cognito with the task  of safeguarding your privacy and enjoy Peace of   Mind knowing that your personal information isn't  circulating on the web the icing on the cake is   that incogni offers a risk-free 30-day trial  allowing you to test the service and receive   a full refund if it doesn't meet your expectations  sign up for incognia at incogni.com forward slash   money the first 100 people to use code money  with this link will get 20 off in cognate   the second reason that companies have become so  obsessed with their culture is because pushback   over workplace issues has become a lot more  serious offices have become a lot more diverse   and inclusive and public opinion has shifted  to support groups that previously would have   been marginalized this is positive progress but  it's not without challenges when everybody in an   office has a similar background it's easier  to avoid faux pas that will get the company   in trouble in a modern office what is just a joke  to one person will be an attack to another person   really uncomfortable well Kayla slow down Speedy  I can't wait to see us in my bedroom later if you   got time wanting to swing by my bedroom I will  see who's you can get done first mine's bigger   mine's bigger you boys are gonna stretch me  thin okay this is literally sexual harassment   okay like how are you okay with this Kayla I'm  remodeling Rob's bedroom leader when I'm not here   I run a small interior design company the court  of public opinion is very unkind to companies no   matter how they handle these situations having  a strong cultural framework in place can help   reduce the chances of these events happening  stopping bad PR and getting the most work out   of the widest possible pool of talent is all the  companies really care about but that sounds too   dehumanizing so they brand it as corporate culture  and everybody is happy a company that makes a big   deal about its corporate culture can also use it  as a defense when problems do eventually occur   any corporate apology is bound to include a line  about how the company takes workplace culture very   seriously and it holds its people to the highest  standards of whatever this isn't a bad thing a   workplace should be somewhere everybody feels  comfortable even if it's a little more rigid than   the 1950 Style Mad Men ad firm but don't be fooled  into thinking it's been done for the right reasons   a culture is only good as how much extra profit  it can make for a company every year the third   reason that companies have become so obsessed with  corporate culture is because everybody else is   doing it and they've all convinced each other it's  important corporate culture has been a concept in   business management since the 1970s but it has  only become a buzzword in the last 10 years the   obsession with company culture began when company  leaders saw the success of tech startups and they   had a very different way of doing business but  were becoming the most valuable businesses in the   world the push for positive company culture  really became about chasing what worked for   others the objective of creating the best possible  working environment got lost to following Trends   and fads that were implemented poorly and now the  new thing in Silicon Valley is they use this a lot   which is I I like to hire people that I want to go  have a beer with like well that's a really stupid   reason to hire someone office cubicles were once  the definition of a depressing work environment   but now they look like heaven anybody that has  worked in a culture-centric collaboration focused   open plan office knows that it really means that  you'll be working shoulder to shoulder with your   co-workers on a small desk barely big enough  for all of your stuff this is where I work on   my desk is incredibly close to my poor neighbors  I always have to wear headphones to concentrate   and nobody ever talks the old office cubicles were  better for workers but moving to the conveniently   cheaper option of cramming more staff into  the same square footage can be justified   by management with a focus on promoting company  Culture open offices are about saving money the   extra space is used for rec rooms that look great  on the company's career landing page but workers   will get into trouble for using if they don't meet  their performance objectives in the age of culture   Obsession a team isn't a group of overworked  people who drink heavily to cope with stress   they just work hard play hard the employees share  blame in this Obsession as well one of the most   frequently recommended interview questions for  applicants is to ask about company culture 91 of   hiring managers rank a good cultural fit over  the applicant with the best skills so this is   good advice but the interviewers then need a good  answer if they said that they are a boring company   that sets reasonable expectation for their workers  and realizes that their accounting department is   not a fast-paced and dynamic environment it would  put off a lot of LinkedIn enthusiasts the best   strategy for both workers and employers is to  play along with the game and pretend they care   company culture can be good for everybody but  not if it goes too far and it can actually   hurt company and Career Success in three ways  the first problem is that it can recreate an   environment where everybody is the same even if  individualism is what it was trying to promote   sometimes good ideas are had when not everybody  feels 100 comfortable and if everybody is too   in line with the homogeneous culture there won't  be anybody to challenge bad ideas companies with   strong cultures can also isolate new employees and  make them feel very awkward I am sure you have all   talked to someone that was just a little bit too  into their company and just love it just love my   job now imagine working with a whole team of them  it is also a lot of pressure most of the stuff   you do at your job does not matter if you file a  report late or enter some date wrong it won't be   the end of the world but if you and all the people  you work with believe that the company is more   important than just something that pays your bills  then every little mistake becomes the end of the   world this is terrible for the mental health of  employees but it's also terrible for the company   because it disincentivizes free thinking and  controlled risk taking first thing I do is ask for   it I'm just calling you out Corporate America the  fourth reason that companies have become obsessed   with corporate culture is because it's one of the  last options they have to motivate staff that just   don't care about the 40-year careers anymore  to find out why go and watch my video on how   careers have changed forever a special thanks  again to incognate for making it possible for   everybody to keep on learning how money works  you know my value is if I had a company it'd   be like get this [ __ ] done and I don't care  what you do in the meantime just like you know   don't be a dick that's it that's like  that's all your company values need to

Channel: How Money Works

Views: 1,079,788

Keywords: corporate culture, corporate cult, team building, workplace team building, open plan office, company culture, how money works, how history works, corporate management, work life balance, business, finance, startups, culture manager, what is corporate culture

Id: 88SGfykwt8g

Length: 12min 57sec (777 seconds)

Published: Tue May 02 2023