Why do you dread going to work? Is it because you don’t like the position itself, or is it because you don’t get along with the people who work there? Company culture plays a major part in overall employee satisfaction. According to a recent study, 47% of active job seekers cite company culture as their driving reason for looking for work, and 88% of employees believe a strong company culture is key to business success. Unfortunately, sometimes, no matter what you do, you never get a real taste of what a company’s culture is like until you start working there. Once you realize that you aren’t happy, you feel like you’re stuck, but maybe you’re not…
So, How Do You Know?
A lot of the time, people find that they are unhappy where they work but they can’t quite pinpoint why. So, how do you know? Here are a few tell-tale signs:
- You feel isolated, both personally and professionally
- You have nothing in common with your coworkers
- You aren’t motivated or inspired to do your work
- They do not celebrate success in the way you would like
The list could go on… right?
Here’s What You Can Do:
The first thing you can do is tell your supervisor, or someone in a leadership role that you can trust. They can provide empathy and advice. Maybe if you tell the right person, things within the culture could change. You never know if you don’t speak up.
Make note of what you are actually searching for when it comes to a company’s culture. That way you can avoid finding yourself in an unfit company culture again if you should decide to search for other employment opportunities.
You can be the change. By speaking up about your feelings towards the culture, you may find that you aren’t the only one who feels this way. It only takes one domino to make the rest fall over. However, if you are going to address the culture issues, make sure you do it in a professional manner, not out of emotion.
Do plenty of research before going on with a new company. Search through the company’s website and reviews before your interview. During the interview, be honest and tell them that company culture is important to you and that you want to ensure that you will fit in with everyone. According to a recent study, 91% of managers said that a candidate’s alignment with the company culture is equal to or more important than their skills and experience.
You could have the best job in the world, but if you aren’t happy with the company’s culture, you will be unhappy, and the most important part about finding a job is finding somewhere where you are happy, right?