Is the ‘work hard, play hard’ culture dead?

As we all know, some days at work will be better than others. But when Brits were asked to pick different terms to describe their workplace culture, the most popular responses were found to be welcoming, collaborative, predictable and safe – showing that on the whole, Brits are feeling pretty positive about their places of work.

Despite this, an important thing about culture is that it should enable growth, both for employees and the company itself. That’s why, when looking at the least popular answers for how people would describe their workplaces, it shows there may still be some areas for improvement.

So, what are the least popular ways to describe workplaces?

To find the least common terms that people would use to describe their places of work, Perkbox conducted a study of 2,000 employed Britons.

We asked respondents to pick three different terms that they feel best describe their place of work, from a list of 17 terms surrounding workplace culture.

These respondents were then segmented into 5 different industries; Legal and Finance, Healthcare, Services (including Marketing; Leisure; HR and Hospitality), Energy and Manufacturing, and other sectors, to show any similarities or differences between these industries.

Take a look at the four least popular terms to describe workplaces.

1. The term least likely to be used to describe workplaces: ‘Not Afraid To Take Risks’

The least common way that people would choose to describe their workplace is ‘not afraid to take risks’ - with just 12.5% across all industries describing their work in this way, including a particularly low, 1.75% from the Legal and Finance industry. This highlights that many employees feel that their workplace acts cautiously.

In 2019, with new businesses, leaders and startups innovating and developing new solutions to both old and new problems, being ‘afraid to take risks’ could, ultimately, lead to a company’s downfall.

Of course, all risks should be calculated and minimised, but being too afraid to take any risks at all, could lead to staff feeling stifled and frustrated with companies that won’t action any of their innovative ideas, due to fear of failure.

2. ‘Energised’

‘Energised’ being one of the least popular ways that employees would describe their workplace may be no surprise. Looking into which industries in particular are feeling this way, a worryingly low 1.5% of Healthcare workers would describe their work as energised, rising to just 2% of Legal and Finance workers.

Energised workplaces can make faster, more efficient and more creative decisions. Improving this element in the workplace through policies, such as unlimited holidays or flexible working, could make a world of difference.

Sadly, it seems that the feeling that detracts from energy - stress, might be taking the spotlight instead. Online searches for ‘workplace stress’ have remained consistently high at 1517 searches on average each month. To see so many researching stress at work really brings home why so many workplaces may not be feeling quite so ‘energised’.

3. ‘Playful’

Remember the saying ‘work hard, play hard’? Well looking at the results, most workplaces seem to have lost their playful edge. ‘Playful’ was found to be the third least common way that employees would use to describe their workplace, with just 24% overall choosing this term.

Obviously workplaces can’t be playful all the time, but we do spend a lot of our lives at work, so having a little fun couldn’t harm anyone. Workplaces can introduce more activities into break rooms to encourage colleagues to enjoy their downtime amongst periods of hard work and build stronger relationships with colleagues. This will ultimately allow for better communication at work and, hopefully, higher productivity when back to the grindstone.

4. ‘Altruistic’

Finally, ‘altruistic’ makes the least popular list. This is particularly unpopular for the Healthcare industry, with just 4% of employees in this industry choosing this term.

This being ranked lowly by employees, shows that a culture of selflessness may be missing amongst colleagues, and it could be affecting workplace friendships. Encouraging a workplace culture of altruism can only lead to benefits, and may in turn help to reduce the rising phenomenon of ‘burnout’, as it will become normal to ask for and accept help, without any feeling of guilt.

Do you feel that any of these elements need to be incorporated into your workplace too?