Culture has many meanings and connotations to different people, so for the context of this article - culture is a system of learned and shared beliefs, language, norms, values, and symbols that groups use to identify themselves and provide a framework within which to live and work. 

To further simplify this is to say, culture is what you decide to walk past.

What does that mean?  It means if there is something that you see that is not right and you don’t say anything, your culture now becomes that which you are walking past.

Ripple Affect Institute ran a culture session recently with a group of construction site supervisors and we talked about what people’s organisational cultures were like.  They all felt like they had good cultures at their organisations and on their sites.  With that in mind, we then dove into various scenarios of actual events that had occurred on other sites to understand what their roles and responsibilities were and what they would do if they came across these situations, and would they walk past or say something?

The uncomfortableness in the room was evident as the (actual) scenarios were very challenging.  However, the participants hung in there and worked through the situations with the others in the group.

One scenario presented to them was from a court case in NSW.  The Tier 1 company had employed an apprentice.  Commencing on day 3 of his employment, the crew led by the Supervisor, started to bully him (as reported in the court case) including burning his hand with an oxy torch and constantly swearing at him.   The Supervisor set up “Sphincter Dilation Chart” that publicly recorded his errors, with the threat of anally assaulting him with a steel dildo if he notched up a certain number. When it got near the top the apprentice quit.  Tragically the apprentice took his own life weeks after that.  When the judge asked why they would do that, they responded with, “it was just a joke”.  Unfortunately, a whole group took part, and no one stopped this “joke” over a period of time.  They all walked past it, which became their culture that had a tragic and detrimental outcome.(1)(2)   (It was reported that the company changed its policies and procedures in relation to bullying, harassment, and discrimination as a consequence).

The group discussed this case study and worked through what they would do if they ever came across this.  As tragic as it is, it’s not that uncommon to go along with something that is endorsed by a group (group think) and in particular as led by the leader.  This highlights the importance of why culture is so important to be very intentional about and consistent on with both language and behaviours and owned by the top leaders of the organisation.

This past week someone reported to us at Ripple Affect Institute that a worker recently stood his ground about being asked to do something that was unsafe and not productive whereby re-work was going to have to be done.  He refused and explained why.  Instead of being thanked for thinking through the situation and pointing out the safety aspect he was bashed right there onsite!  Absolutely tragic at its best.

In the cultural training we do, we talk about being on the edge of the cliff, where we as humans don’t think but rather react based on the emotions and struggles, we are dealing with at the time that no one else can see (below the iceberg if you will).  Many (most?) times we do not show up at our best when we are stressed out, and other times we react quite badly to ourselves and to others, which is often what happens when not functioning at our best.  What we teach is how to come back off the cliff and being proactive about building a culture that allows people to feel safe to share, addressing the psychosocial hazards (now part of the WHS laws in most states in Australia)(3), and tools for individuals to use to help them deal with their struggles that will assist them to making better decisions when stresses are high.

When we use the different real-life scenarios, people are quite uncomfortable and don’t believe these things will happen in their organisations or their sites.  However, if you look at it another way and acknowledge “this always has a potential to happen my workplace/site” and ask yourself constantly, “what am I walking past and staying silent about?”, then it helps keep you actively involved with ensuring you are building a healthy culture.  In our experience most people have openly acknowledged that they have indeed been complicit in creating a standard that is not in alignment with their values or beliefs or that of the organisation.  People have shared that it typically because they are afraid of retribution and because they are too busy to address situations which are not of their direct concern.

This, again, is why it’s so important for organisations to put in place a framework that helps people feel comfortable with speaking up and creating a safe culture and commitment to excellence.  In the situation shared above where both parties ended up in hospital, productivity was clearly impacted. How safe are they going to feel when they come to work?  Will their productivity be impacted?  Will they be willing to speak up again? This will most likely impact the productivity and bottom line, which then translates to higher stress and lower profit margins/bonuses on top of all the anxiety and stress caused to the individuals, amongst other things.  How the company responds will now become the culture of this site, which we are optimistic that it will be positively addressed!

But let’s work on backing up off the edge of the cliff again.  At Ripple Affect Institute we believe that it is very important to not make this personal at an individual level but rather address it at an organisational level first to help recognise the hazards that are happening and then how to address them to ensure everyone feels safe, included, and excited to come to work every day to do what they love.

This next idea may trigger some people.  But instead of chastising or crucifying the person who snapped we try to build a culture that brings people back off the cliff.  One of the things we talk about in our culture sessions is about pausing and getting curious about the individual who snapped.  Let’s help them back up off the cliff in a proactive approach.  If there was a culture of wellbeing, of openly engaging with everyone to check in on them if they are okay as a part of the culture, perhaps this person might not have snapped.  What was going on with them that stressed them out and had them react like this?  Perhaps if someone had realised, he was struggling and stopped to deeply listen and say, “it’s okay to not be okay” or “I’m here to listen mate” – it just might have brought him back off the cliff earlier and helped him not react the way he did.

Building a psychologically safe culture is not a nice to have. It’s a MUST have!

Psychological safety is a shared belief held by members of a team that it’s OK to take risks, to express their ideas and concerns, to speak up with questions, and to admit mistakes — all without fear of negative consequences.

Looking after each other is paramount.  Don’t walk past what isn’t right.  Ask yourself, is this something that I want to become the culture of where I work?  If not, then think about how you can create an environment where it is in alignment.  Pause. Get curious and reflect.  Listen.  Be kind.  Make THAT your culture!  Be THAT leader!

Wishing you all a safe and healthy holiday season.

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