LiveWorkBalance

Update: For the followup to this post, check out Changing Corporate Culture.

Corporate culture is something we hear about a lot. Companies are told that in order to succeed, they need to ensure that they have a culture that is progressive, customer and employee focused, and open to change.

Recent grads and pretty much anyone looking for work are all reminded to consider the culture of an organization when they’re applying for a position.

But corporate culture is more than just paying attention to the latest articles in academic journals, hiring the right change management consultant, or finding out if the company has casual Fridays. You can frequently ask all the right questions and even get the answers you want, and then show up to work and find that nothing is what it seemed to be.

This is because corporate culture is not really about the company, it’s about the people in the company. If the HR department says it’s a model of work life balance and they’ve won awards for nearly everything under the sun, but the managers are still promoting a 50-60 hour work week (by promoting those who work them), then you can make a pretty good guess what the true corporate culture is.

So if you’ve joined this type of organization, there is one key thing to remember.

It’s far easier to take a relaxed culture and work in a more rigid fashion than it is to take a rigid culture and work in a more relaxed fashion.

This isn’t to say that it can’t be done, just that it takes time.

So what are your options?

• Do nothing. This is not only the most basic option, but probably also the most commonly chosen option as well. Many people will put up with the situation until something better comes along, which may or may not happen any time soon. If you’re not going to be with the organization long, or you just don’t want to make the change, maintaining the status quo is as easy as going with the flow. Of course, this flow might be like navigating some rapids at night without a paddle, or a canoe for that matter.

• Quit. A lot of people don’t seriously consider this choice, or think about it and say that it’s not a choice at all. We’ve all got bills to pay and groceries to buy, so that’s partially true. However, there’s always a choice. I don’t necessarily mean quit on your second day on the job, but if you have decided that the job is a bad fit for you, start looking for a new one. I’ve generally found (through experience and anecdotal evidence), that it’s easier to find a job when you have one anyhow.

• Make a change. Ahhh, I thought people might be waiting for this point. Chances are, if you’re reading a blog like this, you’re a little more proactive about your career, or are trying to become that way. So you’ve got a job with some potential, but it’s not quite where you want it to be. Rather than assigning it to the category of lost cause, you think that you can save it. Well, the rescue won’t be easy, and success isn’t assured, but there is hope.

Changing corporate culture from within is no small task, and the larger the organization, the greater the challenge becomes. However, there are things you can do to help implement and manage the change, and over the next few days or weeks, I’ll be sharing some of my ideas with you as to how you can do this.

If you’ve got any ideas you’d like added to the queue, send me an email at adam@liveworkbalance.com, and I’ll include what I can (with credit of course).

Cheers,

Adam

Update: For the followup to this post, check out Changing Corporate Culture.