What is workplace behavior?
Work behavior refers to how employees act, including their contributions and how they treat colleagues, customers and clients. These behaviors generally influence workplace culture and overall performance. Promoting positive behaviors can help create a work environment where processes run smoothly.
What makes a workplace positive?
Positive workplaces typically help employees feel supported, often resulting in a committed, motivated and efficient team. Examples of positive workplace behaviors can include:
- Supporting company values
- Collaborating with others
- Welcoming new ideas
- Being respectful of colleagues
- Promoting healthy work/life balance
- Treating employees fairly
Cultivating positive behaviors in the workplace
You can encourage positive workplace behaviors with the following strategies.
1. Set expectations for workplace behavior
Company leaders can model positive workplace behaviors to encourage other workers to do the same. For example, managers may implement an open door policy, showing employees they care about and actively listen to their concerns.
This behavior can demonstrate that your company wants employees to share ideas freely and values diverse perspectives. You might offer training on organizational communication to teach managers how to create a pleasant work environment.
Clearly defining any expected behaviors may help you focus your time and communicate about them effectively. For example, if you want to improve problem-solving skills, you might create a targeted workshop. To improve communication, you might develop a plan that defines preferred communication channels.
2. Improve your communication and workflow styles
Your company’s communication style and workflow processes can impact the work environment and behaviors. When there’s clear communication about duties and company goals, employees generally feel more comfortable and confident contributing to the team.
Using transparent and positive communication may improve work behavior and encourage employees to share their ideas and feedback. It can also help employees understand your expectations, which can increase work quality and promote positive workplace behavior.
Once you receive employee feedback, you might look for processes that need improvement. Forming task groups based on your employees’ expertise might help you implement new processes, policies and protocols for interacting with customers.
3. Involve your team
If you notice areas for improvement in workplace behaviors, such as passive-aggressive communication that could be more direct or disjointed teamwork caused by role conflict, you can change the environment by asking for feedback.
Consider anonymous surveys, which allow employees to express their opinions freely, ask open-ended questions to encourage suggestions for improvement or hold brainstorming sessions to improve positivity.
4. Implement changes
Team building activities can help employees build relationships and encourage collaboration. Training sessions may also improve workplace behaviors, such as establishing inclusivity among team members or navigating different workplace communication styles.
5. Recognize your team’s success
Showing appreciation to employees can also encourage positive workplace behaviors. Effective recognition acknowledges sincere effort and focuses on each employee’s accomplishments.
6. Highlight company values and goals
Explaining your company’s core values can help employees understand what’s expected of them. You can also encourage desired behaviors by showing employees how their duties support company goals, helping them see their impact and stay motivated.
Contributors to positive behaviors in the workplace
A positive organization often helps employees feel inspired and willing to work efficiently. Several factors can influence how employees feel at work, including:
- Office environment: The layout and design of your workplace can affect employees’ wellbeing and relationships. Open spaces with areas for quiet work, collaboration and relaxation may also encourage positivity and productivity.
- Human resources (HR) processes: Improving your HR processes may help improve the environment. For example, a clear onboarding process helps create a positive first impression of your organization. Meanwhile, ongoing performance evaluations can help employees recognize their contributions and feel valued.
- Company culture: Company culture is often an important driver of positivity, especially those that promote equality and integrity. Creating a culture of belonging and transparency may help employees feel well-informed and welcomed.
FAQs about workplace behavior
Why is workplace behavior important?
Your employees’ workplace behavior can impact all aspects of your business, including how they communicate with clients, treat each other and accomplish tasks. If your employees consistently exhibit positive behavior, your customer satisfaction rates, productivity and culture may improve.
Workplace behavior can also impact your organization’s reputation. For example, job seekers who know your organization offers a supportive, positive environment may apply for your open roles.
How can you ensure positive work behaviors?
Consider ways to support employees and their wellbeing. For example, if an employee needs more assistance with daily tasks, you might provide tools or additional training to fill those needs. If morale is low and affecting collaboration, you might find ways to support employee wellbeing by celebrating success in the workplace.
