Why Do We Do this Work?
Why We Do this Work – Supporting Organizational Culture Development
Did you know that when people have bad days at work, their families usually absorb the emotional impact? Moreover, studies show that when parents, particularly mothers, have bad days at work, their children are more likely to misbehave at school in the immediate following days. Research even shows that when parents are stressed at work, they are less likely to do the things that made them parents. Perhaps this also means that people who want to become parents are stressed out of options to become such. In the same vein, burnout, prolonged exposure to workplace stress, and poor work-life balance can negatively impact employees’ mental health, leading to conditions such as anxiety, depression, and other mental health disorders, including reduced cognitive function. Ultimately, the impact is the same: work, organizational culture, team dynamics, and relationships with colleagues and leaders have a considerable impact on people, on and off the clock.
Every part of work crosses over into our personal lives and spills over into our communities. Specifically, crossover effects focus on the transfer of emotions or experiences between individuals, whereas spillover effects are more about the indirect impacts of actions or events across different contexts or sectors. Think of them as ripple effects: as a leader of an organization and team, have you considered the impact of your behavior and the culture you allow to persist on your employees?
By the same token, leaders are often overwhelmed with constant change, the volume of work, and longstanding complex cultural dynamics. Moreover, leaders are inundated with varying leadership theories that they don’t fully trust or have time to figure out how to implement. Additionally, those in mid-level or frontline leadership positions face greater difficulty in accessing and requesting the training and support they need to lead effectively. What’s more is that data tells us that this group has the greatest impact on employee engagement.
We understand these gaps, and addressing them is where our passion lies. We also know that regardless of an employee’s position or level of authority within an organization, all workers experience less stress and positive spillover and crossover effects from working in a positive workplace culture. We use the full breadth of our experiences as coaches, facilitators, trainers, and complex problem solvers to help leaders identify their true values, fix people problems, and get their teams aligned.
Voltage Vista and its partners do this work because people who aren’t happy at work aren’t happy at life.
