Workplace culture: being nice isn't enough

Workplace culture: being nice isn't enough

Author: brucedaisley.com December 20, 2021 Duration: 46:09

How did thinking about workplace culture increase the profitability of firms?


I was doing some thinking for some businesses over the last few weeks and the work of one person sprung to mind. Zeynep Ton is a professor of operation management at MIT Sloan School of Management. She found herself looking at the challenges that some businesses had with high employee turnover. 

They were losing a lot of people. It was causing their service to suffer - it was also costing them a lot of money training and recruiting people. Sounds familiar?


From this it lead to another understanding. Some organisations by thinking about and planning the employee experience of work create jobs that were less stressful and more rewarding. It struck her that quite often companies don’t want to make decisions or create limitations for fear of upsetting customers. But in the process they become more muddled for customers and less rewarding for employees.


Zeynep goes on to say that the firms who think about these things and set about creating good culture and good jobs (a) are more profitable and have higher revenue (b) build more sustainable businesses so their stock does better.

Here are her 4 pillars:

  1. operational simplification
  2. standardisation AND empowerment
  3. cross-training
  4. operating with slack


Good more about the Good Jobs Strategy

Read Zeynep's book

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There’s a conversation happening about how our jobs shape us, and Eat Sleep Work Repeat sits right at the heart of it. Host Bruce Daisley approaches workplace culture not with prescriptive advice, but with genuine curiosity, digging into the science and social dynamics behind why we work the way we do. Each episode feels like a thoughtful exploration, blending research from management, psychology, and sociology with real-world stories. You’ll hear discussions that challenge conventional wisdom about productivity, teamwork, and wellbeing, moving beyond simple fixes to understand the deeper systems at play. This podcast recognizes that improving work isn't just about office perks; it's about examining the rhythms, relationships, and expectations that fill our days. It’s for anyone who has ever wondered how to make their team more resilient, their own work more meaningful, or simply how to disconnect at the end of the day. With millions of listens, it’s become a trusted resource for rethinking the modern work experience. The tone is engaging and accessible, turning complex ideas into practical reflections. For more from Bruce Daisley, visit brucedaisley.com.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Eat Sleep Work Repeat - better workplace culture
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