Presentation Script
Time Topic
0:00-0:15 After spending hundreds of hours together, being put under intense stressful
events, and shared responsibility, workplace relationships are common across
countless industries. Based on employer policies and existing culture, a business
can appear to resemble a familial structure, a strictly professional structure, or
somewhere in between. It is generally widely accepted that relationships in the
workplace are beneficial to the communication of the workplace. The conflict of
interest comes in when the relationships interfere with the organization’s goals
and productivity. This poses the question; which is better; running a company as
a family or a business?
I chose this topic because I have always loved working for environments that
felt closer to a family-like structure and felt strong organizational commitment
to them. However, having this experience, I can see the downfalls in the
productivity and social structure of the organization.
0:16-0:30 First, it is important to outline a few key terms in relation to the topic at hand.
The “workplace culture” is defined as “shared values, belief systems, attitudes
and the set of assumptions that people in a workplace share” (Agarwal, 2018,
para. 1). Another key term to consider is emotional labor, which is widely
associated and used in customer service. This term refers to the practice of
concealing internal feelings and evoking the right feeling for the job
performance. Over time, this can lead to attrition and dissatisfaction of the
organization (Robertson, 2022) ,
0:31-1:45 Research shows the most ideal solution is a friendly, yet professional
workplace. Close workplaces promote organizational commitment, decrease
emotional labor and stress, and increase familiarity with the workplace
operations. This solution considers both the benefits of a close-knit workplace,
and the potential toxicities of having workers be too close. The first step is to
implement proper policies into the organizational handbook and make it clear
the type of organizational culture that is accepted and encouraged in that
specific workplace. This should take into account what the current workplace
culture is, as well as what works best for those individual workers. After
policies are set in place, top level managers must ensure that workers are being
properly monitored in their behaviors. Without the monitoring of behavior,
policies become essentially useless, as they are not being enforced. We have
seen countless examples of workplace culture policies used across other
industries. For example, zero tolerance policies are often implemented in offices
for harassment, violence, insubordination, and repeated absenteeism. This not
only ensures that employees are working their best towards the organizational
goal but also treating each other fairly and respectfully in the long run. In turn,
this will likely increase organizational comittment and satisfaction while
monitoring for the risks of close-knit toxicity.
1:46-2:00 In real life, the solutions will need to be implemented by managers at all levels.
Upper-level managers will have to dictate the level of closeness vs.
Professionalism deemed appropriate for that specific workplace. Then, it is up
to more front-line managers to monitor and implement these policies in actual
practice with employees. This solution is especially affordable for organizations
of varying sizes, seeing as the main methods depend on existing managers.
However, it is important to note the unique challenges that the hospitality
industry poses in terms of workplace culture. High turnover rates and frequent
attrition mean that different individuals are constantly coming in and out of the
workplace, which alters the overall environment as each individual brings
different characteristics and attitudes to the team.
2:01-2:45 If the organization is able to properly implement a friendly, professional
workplace that encourages socialization while still prioritizing the
organizational goal, there will be significant increases in overall organizational
productivity. Specifically, organizational communication, commitment, and job
satisfaction are directly influenced by organizational culture.
Employee/customer satisfaction can be measured for genera; trends using Likert
scale surveys and can delve even deeper using one-on-one interviews. From
increased job satisfaction, employees will in turn begin to perform better as they
are motivated to do their jobs. Increased sales volumes and output can be
measured over a long-term scale to observe trends in productivity.
It is important to recognize the potential challenges of these performance
metrics and their methods. There is a potential for bias when employees take
surveys pertaining to their workplace, seeing as they are being monetarily
motivated to be a part of that community. This is why it is important for
managers to actively monitor and assess their employees for their satisfaction
and performance in a natural, day-to-day environment. By truly knowing their
employees and how they behave, this will set them up for success by knowing
their actions and what behaviors means what for them.
2:46-3:00 To conclude, the workplace is an easy place to form bonds and create strong
relationships. However, from an employer perspective, it is important to keep
employees on track towards the organizational goal and the tasks at hand.
Because of this, the most efficient social culture of a workplace would entail a
friendly environment that maintains professional boundaries. This can vary
from place to place, and it is key for employers and policy makers in the future
to effectively take into consideration the existing culture of the people they are
working with when molding the environment. You can only influence people as
much as they can influence you. ,
