Once upon a time, people found a job and stayed in it for their working lifetime. In many cases, it was unheard of to change career or to go back to study.

However, nowadays, with online studying and such a great emphasis on mental health and overall well being, gone are the days where individuals stay working in an environment that makes them unhappy. To retain employees and ensure you are a providing a safe workplace where they feel driven and inspired, you must focus on developing a company culture that supports rather than breaks down employees.

Consider the following benefits of a strong company culture:

Productivity
An office where employees feel respected, valued and enjoy their work each day is an office that is bound to be productive. In terms of making money and being profitable, employees need to be productive. While it may – on face value – look like an employee is not doing their work because they are conversing with another employee or they regularly go for team lunches, this is actually a sign that an employee enjoys their workplace and in turn is more likely to work hard.

Retention
A company with a great culture and good morale is more likely to be a company that retains its employees. Retention is an important aspect of budgeting and being profitable because there are so many hold-ups that come from hiring and training new staff. When an employee leaves, they will need to be paid out the annual leave, which costs the business money. The business will also acquire costs through advertising the position and training the new applicant. The amount of work the new employee will produce will normally be less than that of the experience employee that left. When a well-liked employee leaves, relationships between business and customers they looked after can also become strained.

Business reputation
Customers, visitors to the business, and even applicants for a job position will walk into an office and instantly get a vibe as to what the culture of the company is like and how happy existing employees are. Signs of a happy workplace include chatter, friendly or smiling employees and people walking around and interacting with one another.