Why to Have a Family-like Environment at Workplace?

The family is the cornerstone for every evolution. It is the pillar that binds the individuals in a close knot barbed wire, embalming them from external threats. The family is the single most important foundations of society and without one the battle against the vagaries of life is seemingly lost.

When it comes to the workplace we tend to overlook an important aspect and that is how to treat the employees. Now no organization will be treating its employees unprofessionally, the rule book can become too asphyxiating if pushed down the throat. It is pertinent, that as the owner or leader of the organization, to understand the dynamics of running a team based on mutual respect and vision. It is therefore effective to treat your employees like your family. And there are umpteen studies that show that treating them like family will be productive for the organization.

There are quite a few reasons for it:

An employee as a family is trusted and valued. However, in the absence of both factors, the workplace may become a burden for them. The performance would dip and the usual result is the employee turning out to be dissatisfied and non-performing.

There two important surveys which prove this point.

The Deloitte Shift Index found out that 80% of the correspondents interviewed were dissatisfied with their jobs while the Gallup survey pinned only 30% truly engaged to their jobs. This was a startling revelation about job satisfaction and its engagement.

Another landmark study said that the worker stress depended on the degree of control an employee had over their jobs. If there was a fair amount of freedom at work, then the stress would be remarkably less. The opposite too was true. Less freedom led to more self-doubt and greater anxiety, which would shoot the stress levels up.

It is here that it becomes important or rather a necessity to change the mode of communication with the employees and make it more impersonal without crossing the line.

Why treat employees like family?

Simply because that is what you would want your family member to be treated as in their respective workplaces. It is always advantageous to treat workers like family. This would lead to lesser work related stress and greater engagement. Well engaged workers often lead healthy family lives. So treating a worker with dignity often have a cascading effect which spills over into the society as a whole. It has been proved that higher work-related stress often leads to greater physical and mental illness. This can be debilitating.

Empathy

One of the pillars of human relationship is empathy. It is a mental condition where you put yourself in the shoes of the individual facing a circumstance. It is nowhere related to sympathy which is more akin to showering pity with no emotional connect. Most effective leaders are empaths who understand the nuances of human relations and hence can convey messages, successfully.

Empathy is one of the most important pillars on which any organizational communication is based. It is the endeavor of every organization to achieve employee fulfilment through employee-centric policies and activities. Only then will there be a feeling of camaraderie and bonding. Family is all about camaraderie and bonding.

However, there are numerous other ways through which organizations engage their employees and make them feel like a part of a large family.

Countering De-humanization

Organizations mustcounter de-humanization in every form. An employee has the right to be treated as a human being and not as a statistic. They will be identified through their abilities, existence and spirit and not just employee id, which should strictly be limited to system identification.

Most companies go to great lengths to overcome this barrier and merge employees with their ethos. The ecosystem thus created needs to be conducive for the employee to feel at home.

Work Culture

This is in continuation with the above-mentioned point. Toxic work culture will never be a successful place to work in. It will limit growth, stem flow of ideas and information, create barriers between employees and management, provide enough reasons for an individual to escape the vitiating environment, the outcomes are umpteen.

The primary job of the leadership team is to create an atmosphere of trust and candidness. An individual should be able to voice his or her opinion without the fear of retaliation. Such a condition will provide enough scope for everyone to bring in newer thoughts and better philosophies.

Leadership for all

A leader is someone who will not just provide the requisite motivation for the team but also protect them in times of crisis. A leader is like a father/mother figure who has the onerous task of covering his or her wards when it is needed. This gives confidence to those under him or her to work fearlessly and selflessly. It is similar to what parents do at home. Build a shield around their children.

Effective leadership is the greatest positive effect there is when it comes to employee engagement.

Guidance

We all have family elders who guide their younger ones. Similarly, an effective leadership team should be capable enough to guide those in need. There should be a system in place where the organization receives an alarm which will set in motion a set of procedures whose primary objective is going to be to provide proper direction to its employees.

This too is one of the traits of effective leadership.

Accountability

Organizations also have to be mindful of the fact that they are primary business houses and generating revenue is the main concern. If there is a disruption in the flow, then an economic crisis will become a reality. Hence, there needs to be a balance in place. Every employee will have to be accountable to their respective leadership and the organization as a whole. It is similar to family members, all of whom have roles and responsibilities.

Accountability also has a latent advantage. It gives the individual a sense of purpose and motivates him or her to reach for higher goals. It is a kind of a silent push which is a necessity to improve productivity.

Communication

A work team family will only remain a pipedream if there is no communication between them. A channel of open communication is a must. Every forum should be an open one where every good and bad news is shared. There should be enough channels available to the individual employee to voice their fears. It is the prerogative of the management to alleviate these fears.

The communication channel should be open at all times and not just during a crisis. If the team can weather a storm, it should ideally be celebrating together too. Every small achievement needs to be appreciated and noted. A reward and recognition program would work as an advantage too.

Connect

There is a difference between communication and connect, that most organizations fail to understand. Families are together because they connect at a personal level. The leadership has to be impersonal level. They would have to recharge their teams at regular intervals through time outs, unwinding sessions and get together. Teams that get to know each other will strive harder to perform for each other.

Mutual Care and Respect

This has been the running theme throughout this article and rightly so. A team with no mutual care and respect will not be able to perform tasks together. Lack of care and respect will make team members disdainful of each other and there will be a sense of disgust for each other. The individuals would then try to one up on each other therefore undermine the entire team effort. This has to be avoided at any cost. A broken team is akin to a disintegrated family. It ultimately leads to their downfall.

Positivity

A radiant family is borne out of the positivity of its members. A positive vibe rubs off everyone and is contagious. This motivates the individual to move forward and improve. It is the same in the case of a team. A positively outward looking team will be able to fathom any depth. The worst of storms have been weathered by those who have been left with no choice but be positive enough to win against all odds.

Adaptability

This feature works for everyone under any condition. One has to be adaptable to accommodate the change in circumstances. This will increase a sense of camaraderie and advance team morale. Being adaptable is also what family members do for each other.

Webuters – A Work Family

When it comes to the workplace, many organizations strive to create an environment that’s enjoyable and encourages collaboration. Webuters is one such organization that has achieved this by creating a family-like work environment.

At Webuters, employees are more than just co-workers, they are a family. By fostering a family-like atmosphere, we have created an environment where everyone looks out for one another and works together to reach the goals. This has allowed us to form strong bonds with each other, which has led to increased job satisfaction and productivity.

We also provides various amenities to our people that make it feel like a family. We offer flexible work hours, generous vacation policies, health insurance, bonus and gifts to ensure that employees are well taken care of.

With a family-like work environment, employees feel valued and appreciated, which in turn leads to a lower rate of attrition. In addition, employees are more likely to take initiative and feel comfortable offering ideas and suggestions since they feel as though they are part of a team.

At Webuters, the focus is on creating a workplace where employees can be productive and have fun at the same time. By cultivating a family-like work environment, we as an organization have been able to create an atmosphere that is both enjoyable and productive. This has allowed our team to work together to achieve the goals and foster strong relationships with each other.

Final Words

The leaders must treat workers like family. An employee as a family will go the extra mile to fulfil tasks and complete objectives. The above article spells out why to treat employees as family and by the end of it, we can now understand the importance of it.

However, a careful balance has to be maintained between employee-centric policies and accountability.

Treating people who work for the organization as a large family has a positive outcome and should be encouraged.