A business starts with a worthy idea. But how it will develop depends on many additional factors. The atmosphere in the team is decisive.
When staff work as one well-coordinated team, striving for high common goals, the company progresses, grows stronger and prospers. If employees are irritable, hostile towards each other, often conflict, and do not want to invest effort in achieving joint tasks, this will inevitably affect the results and worsen the company’s KPIs. To prevent this from happening, the manager is obliged to build and maintain a healthy internal atmosphere . We will tell you what needs to be done and what measures to take in our article.
Microclimate assessment and main influencing factors
First, you should find out what is happening in your team at the moment: what prevailing emotions, experiences and moods, whether conflicts occur, whether there is an understanding of the common goal of the company and the desire to realize it.
You can obtain information in several ways:
- At general meetings.
- During personal conversations with individual employees.
- Using an anonymous survey.
It is advisable to perform the analysis regularly, since many factors can dramatically change the current situation. The work environment is affected by:
- group compatibility. Employees operate with their own basic concepts and general ideas and perform a specific task. However, well-coordinated teamwork is built on emotional unity and sharing of company values. If the staff speaks different languages, does not reach a compromise on simple issues, does not understand the main goals, the situation will not allow them to do the work effectively;
- Nature of activity. Each position in the company has its own characteristics - emotional intensity, monotony, increased responsibility, and the presence of stress factors. All this affects the socio-psychological microclimate;
- level of job satisfaction. Ideally, work arouses interest, brings a sense of satisfaction, self-worth, and provides the opportunity for professional development. To maintain a favorable atmosphere, it is necessary to respond to the needs of the team in a timely manner: introduce effective systems of material and non-material motivation, pay attention to training, encourage initiative, and the desire for career growth. Otherwise, enthusiasm in the team will quickly subside;
- working conditions. To get maximum results, it is worth providing employees with a comfortable, specially equipped workplace. Poor lighting, extraneous noise, and stuffiness are a source of stress and irritability for employees. This is incompatible with the concept of a healthy atmosphere;
- leadership style. The formation of a normal microclimate is facilitated by a democratic management style, in which there is no imposition of decisions, friendly, trusting relationships prevail, and team members are equally valued. Permissive and authoritarian styles lead to low productivity, the emergence of hostility, envy, and mistrust;
HR management styles chart
- nuances of the global and local microenvironment. Additionally, the situation is influenced by stability in the political and economic spheres of society, the social and psychological well-being of team members. The structure of the organization, the opportunity to participate in planning and decision-making, and the elimination of functional-role contradictions play a role.
With a normal internal microclimate, employees are satisfied with working conditions and the amount of material remuneration, are focused on results, share common goals, support and respect colleagues, notice prospects for growth, and make long-term plans. Problems on any of the points are a sign that it is time to take appropriate action.
How to create a positive atmosphere in a team
People lose motivation, become distracted, and unsure. We may feel that we influence how much pleasure we get from our work. And we have a lot more opportunities for this than we might think. Research shows that positive thinking has far-reaching potential for enhancing not only psychological well-being, but also performance in the workplace.
Positive psychology explores and tries to understand what is “right” in our lives. It shifts the focus to experiences that help us build a positive foundation so that we can resolve issues and problems. The psychological resources of hope, self-confidence, resilience and optimism can influence how we approach our daily work routines. These resources, which together form the construct of psychological capital, directly influence our behavior.
Managers, team leaders or employees themselves take an active role in creating a more positive workplace, thereby proving that they are a worthy investment. Take a moment to analyze your own psychological resources, as well as those of other people around you. Do you think you are capable of meeting the demands of your work life? Do you feel like your team has the tools to handle the challenges you face at work? How confident does your team feel in their abilities? What needs to change to create a more positive environment?
Here are some ideas for creating a more positive workplace. (They are very simple, but, as practice shows, they need to be reminded.)
1. Express gratitude
Recognizing the contributions of others is a powerful motivator. I have seen many talented people who were eager to leave an organization simply because they did not feel valued. Regular gratitude shows respect for that person. Remember this simple word – “thank you” – which makes a huge difference to happiness at work and at home.
Take every opportunity to coordinate your work
Using our strengths in the workplace is key to developing self-confidence. To do this, you need to constantly communicate with your team members to assess how their skills are being utilized. And do your best to ensure that your daily work includes all the areas in which you excel. But when your weaknesses are at the center, then work becomes an unpleasant experience.
Appreciate the work of others
You may not agree with every idea or plan that is presented to you, but respect for the work of others is a must. We all work hard, so don't deprive others of the satisfaction of their work.
Communicate even when it may be challenging
In addition to public speaking, we are also very afraid of difficult conversations. However, the foundation of happy workplaces is open, diplomatic negotiations. So if you're on the fence about sharing something important, or you're trying to avoid conflict, think twice before walking away from the issue.
Improve your feedback
It is crucial to our work life. However, we must remember that we have different feedback requirements and perceive the same information differently. You must be aware of the individual differences between team members.
Be resilient to negative information
We tend to dwell on the negative. We are often obsessed with the goal of accomplishing or bringing to life something that has already failed once. Learn to be resilient by refocusing your energy on success when you feel discouraged or find yourself in a stressful situation.
Practice flexible thinking
When you're working on a new task, be sure to research potential obstacles as well as ways to effectively overcome them. Thanks to this, you will be able to feel more confident in the daily “chaos” of work.
Take and celebrate small steps that lead to success
We often focus on lofty, ambitious goals that require a lot of time to achieve. But don’t forget to celebrate the small wins along the way to keep your team morale and engaged.
How do you create a positive atmosphere in your workplace?
Additional tools for influencing the microclimate
In addition to the proposed methods, it is worth implementing the following principles in the company:
- Information openness. Eliminate secrets, secrecy and vague formulations that create a tense, oppressive environment in the team. Do not leave room for gossip: discuss the current situation, plans and innovations honestly and openly. Engage staff in dialogue.
- Finger on the pulse of the team. Maintain feedback with staff, ask about working conditions and desired changes, and be interested in emerging difficulties and problems.
- Adaptation to current reality. Take into account current events in the world, look for ways to support the team in a crisis situation. Provide the opportunity to work remotely, pay for online training sessions, and issue wages and bonuses on a timely basis.
Find negative factors
An individual employee or even the manager himself can influence the atmosphere in a team.
For example , there is a toxic person who turns part of the team against the manager. It turns out that instead of working on joint goals and objectives, employees spend time and energy on squabbles and discussions. In this case, the correct solution to the current situation would be to dismiss such an employee.
An opposite example could be a situation with a manager . Let’s say that in a large company, the production director at some point began to conflict with almost all related departments. The company's management sees that the climate in the team has become unfavorable, but does not plan to fire the director because of his experience in the field and qualifications.
With mutual communication, it will become clear that conflicts are based on personal responsibility for the new production. However, with a large number of difficulties associated with failure to meet deadlines and powers of other departments, the director fell into a panic, became nervous and began to take it out on the employees.
A good solution would be to hire a deputy for such a director.
Therefore, by eliminating negative factors, it is possible to restore a favorable climate in the team.
Things to remember if you care about corporate morale
Loyalty cannot be imposed by force
You can blow your entire budget and go crazy to organize the coolest, most fun and proper team-building event.
Only all efforts will go to waste if your company has problems at the level of basic processes. An opaque system of work and management, delayed salaries, tyranny of bosses, payment of bonuses not based on merit, but based on acquaintance, illegal dismissals in one day - no amount of team building will correct this impression. All ways to warm up team spirit can only increase loyalty, and not create it from scratch. It is made up of many bricks. But the most important thing is the foundation, how comfortable the employee is to work in the company, and not to have fun.
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