9 Ways to Build a Positive Work Culture

Cherie Gozon
Jan 24
11 min read

Most companies say culture matters, but few actually get it right. While 94% of executives and 88% of employees agree that workplace culture drives business success, only 12% of companies report having an excellent one.¹ That gap represents a massive missed opportunity.

So what does "positive culture" actually mean? It's definitely not about free snacks or office perks. The real question is whether your people feel valued and motivated to do good work. Culture shows up in how you handle everyday decisions and especially in how you treat people during difficult moments.

A team huddle at work. — A positive work culture contributes to productivity and trust among the members. | Image from Wix Media

Companies with strong cultures achieve 72% higher team engagement.² They also see turnover drop by nearly half.³ That matters financially because replacing someone costs between 50% and 200% of their salary.³ Beyond the money, culture affects whether your teams innovate, how productive they are, and what kind of experience customers actually get.

Today's best talent has options. They're choosing employers based on where they can actually grow and feel they belong, not just who pays the most.

Here are 9 things that set companies with great cultures apart from those just going through the motions. We cover psychological safety, recognition that actually resonates, growth opportunities beyond lip service, and creating real belonging.

1. Prioritize Psychological Safety and Open Communication

The best teams have one thing in common, and it's not what you'd guess. Google studied 180 teams in their Project Aristotle research and found that psychological safety mattered more than anything else.⁴ More than talent. More than experience. In teams where people felt safe sharing ideas and owning up to mistakes, innovation happened naturally. In teams where people feared punishment, everyone focused on not screwing up rather than solving problems.

It starts with leadership. If you won't admit when you're wrong or ask for help, your team won't either.⁵ When a manager tells their team, "I misjudged that situation, here's what I should have done differently," it shows everyone that honesty about mistakes is expected, not punished.

Go beyond the yearly engagement survey. Set up town halls where people can ask leadership anything. Schedule skip-level meetings so employees can speak directly with senior leaders without their manager present. Offer anonymous channels for the truly sensitive stuff. The real test isn't collecting feedback. It's what you do with it.

Open team meetings by asking what went wrong that week and what people learned from it. Doing this regularly tells everyone that mistakes are data, not embarrassments. Run post-mortems after projects finish, but focus on lessons rather than who messed up. And teach your managers the difference between listening and just waiting to talk.

Just remember that an open-door policy means nothing if people get punished for walking through it.

2. Recognize and Celebrate Contributions Regularly

Most employees want more recognition than they're getting. The gap is stark: 82% say they want it, but only 23% receive it regularly.⁶ This represents one of the simplest culture improvements you can make. People who feel appreciated stick around longer and contribute more.

Recognition carries different weight depending on where it comes from. A coworker telling you that your work made their job easier can mean more than generic praise from management. Your manager's praise matters for promotions and reviews, but peer recognition hits differently. It feels less scripted and more real.

Be specific when you recognize someone. "Great job" doesn't tell anyone anything. "Your analysis in the client meeting, especially the competitive comparison, convinced them to sign." That level of detail tells someone you paid attention. Link recognition to your company values when you can. It shows people what those values actually look like in action.

Big wins aren't the only thing worth recognizing. Notice the incremental work, the attempts that failed but moved you forward, and the times when people put real effort in, even when the outcome sucked.⁷ Only celebrating success teaches people to hide their failures.

Make recognition a regular habit. Open meetings with shout-outs for recent contributions. Send quick messages when you notice good work. Set up peer recognition systems that allow teammates to acknowledge each other directly. Pay attention to personal preferences because some people appreciate public recognition while others prefer private thanks. Timing counts too, since recognition loses power if it arrives weeks late.

Celebrate wins with your team to boost their morale. | Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash

3. Invest in Employee Growth and Development

People quit when they stop learning. That's the real reason most employees leave, not compensation. 94% say they'd stay longer at companies that invest in their development.⁸ Growth opportunities deliver one of the best returns you can get on culture and retention spending.

Growth doesn't only mean moving up. Sometimes it's a lateral move that exposes someone to a new department. Or a stretch assignment that pushes them past what feels comfortable. Or connecting them with a mentor who's already made the mistakes they're about to make. Some companies give employees dedicated time for learning, like Google's 20% time or Atlassian's ShipIt days. Individual development plans tied to someone's actual career goals show you care about their future, not just what they're producing this quarter.

Put real money behind this. Learning budgets for courses and conferences, paid time for skill development, and tuition reimbursement for degrees. Words about "investing in people" ring hollow without the resources to back them up.⁸ According to LinkedIn's research, learning and growth opportunities rank as the top driver of great workplace culture.

Help people find their next role internally before they start looking elsewhere.⁹ Run lunch-and-learns where employees teach each other. Pay for conference attendance and certifications. You'll see the payoff in better skills, more engaged employees, and people who stick around longer.

Here's where companies mess up, though. They only offer development to their "high potential" people. Everyone else notices and feels like they're expendable. If someone wants to learn and grow, give them the chance.

4. Foster Authentic Connections and Team Bonding

Workplace friendships matter more than you'd think. Gallup found that employees with a best friend at work are seven times more engaged.¹⁰ Strong relationships at work cut down isolation, get people collaborating better, and make jobs more satisfying. Genuine connections don't form on their own, though, especially when people aren't in the same office. You need to make room for them to happen.

Random coffee chat pairings like Donut for Slack introduce people who might never otherwise meet. Create spaces for people to connect around interests beyond work. Channels for runners, book lovers, home cooks, and gamers. These casual conversations build relationships that carry over into how people work together.¹¹

Remote teams need more than just regular video calls. Plan in-person meetups a few times a year when possible. Even small things help, like starting virtual meetings with five minutes of catching up before diving into the agenda. What did people do over the weekend? Any good news to share? These moments matter more in remote work.

Skip the forced fun. Nobody wants mandatory bonding activities they didn't ask for. Find out what your team actually wants to do together instead of assuming everyone loves the same things.

Always find an opportunity for your team to bond. | Image generated by Wix AI Image Creator

5. Promote Work-Life Balance and Well-Being

Burnout isn't a personal failing. It's an organizational issue that costs the U.S. economy an estimated $190 billion in healthcare spending annually.¹² Companies that prioritize well-being don't just help employees live better lives. They also see better business results through sustained performance, creativity, and retention.

Model the boundaries you want to see. If the CEO sends emails at 11 PM, everyone feels pressure to do the same, regardless of official policies. When your executives take real vacations, disconnect completely, and talk openly about protecting their time, it signals that everyone else can too.¹³

Offering flexible schedules and remote options shows that you get that work isn't someone's entire existence. Insisting everyone be in the office from 9 to 5 pretends all humans function identically. Some people do their best work at 6 AM while others hit their stride at 10 PM, and parents need flexibility for school pickups and other responsibilities that don't pause during business hours.

Support mental health with real resources. Employee Assistance Programs, therapy through your health plan, meditation apps, gym stipends, and parental leave that works for different family structures. Sabbaticals after five or ten years give long-tenured people time to decompress.

Unlimited PTO policies usually backfire. They sound generous until nobody knows how much vacation is too much, so everyone takes less to be safe. Set actual expectations and have leaders use their full time off. That gives people permission to use theirs without guilt.

6. Lead with Empathy and Emotional Intelligence

87% of employees say empathy drives retention and creates great workplaces.¹⁴ Empathetic leadership isn't soft. It's strategic. Leaders who understand their team members as whole people, not just productivity units, build trust that translates into discretionary effort, honest feedback, and loyalty during tough times.

Empathy means understanding others' perspectives and emotions, not necessarily agreeing with them. You can be empathetic while maintaining high standards and accountability. Active listening and genuine curiosity about what employees are experiencing create the foundation.¹⁵ Check in on the whole person, not just work output. Life circumstances affect performance, and acknowledging that reality builds trust.

Strong leaders with high emotional intelligence notice when someone seems off and ask how they can help. They adapt communication styles to individual needs rather than using one-size-fits-all approaches.¹⁵ Regular one-on-ones focused on well-being before work items signal that you care about people first. Ask "How are you really doing?" and wait for the honest answer.

Make emotional intelligence training real for your managers, not just another checkbox. Show some vulnerability yourself. Talk about challenges you're facing. When you do that, other people feel less pressure to pretend everything's fine all the time.

Pay attention to what's happening in people's lives. New babies, health problems, losing someone close. These things matter and deserve recognition. Just don't confuse caring about someone with lowering the bar. Support and accountability can coexist.

Leading with empathy may seem so simple, but it means a lot to your team. | Image from Wix Media

7. Ensure Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging

You can hire all the diverse talent you want, but if they quit after six months, what's the point? Companies in the top quartile for ethnic and cultural diversity outperform those in the bottom by 36%, according to McKinsey.¹⁶ That performance gap only materializes when diverse employees feel they belong and see real paths to advancement.

Numbers on a diversity dashboard don't equal belonging. Can people show up as themselves without code-switching or hiding parts of their identity? Do they feel their perspectives get valued? Do they have the same shot at promotions and high-visibility projects as everyone else? These questions matter more than your demographic breakdown.¹⁷

Start with annual pay equity audits to identify and address disparities. Use structured interviews with consistent questions and scoring to reduce hiring bias. In meetings, use round-robin speaking so the loudest voices don't dominate. Celebrate holidays and traditions beyond the mainstream culture.

Call out microaggressions and bias when they happen. Don't let them slide. Train people to recognize these behaviors and interrupt them. Employee resource groups need real budgets and executive sponsors, not just permission to exist.

Here's the thing, though. You can hit your diversity targets while running an exclusive culture that pushes people out.¹⁷ Real belonging requires changing systems, not just counting heads. Hold leaders accountable for building places where everyone can thrive, not just for hitting hiring targets.

8. Create Transparency Around Decisions and Direction

You can't expect trust without transparency. When leaders make decisions without explaining them, people assume the worst. Research from MIT shows that companies that are transparent about their decision-making achieve better engagement, innovation, and customer outcomes.¹⁸

Share the why, not just the what. Cutting the marketing budget? Shifting product strategy? Walk your team through how you arrived at that decision. What alternatives did you consider? What trade-offs did you weigh? You don't need consensus, but people deserve to understand how you got there.

Financial openness looks different for every company. Startups can share detailed numbers. Public companies deal with SEC regulations. Work within whatever limits you have, but share performance data, strategic direction, and the numbers you're tracking. Some companies post their OKRs publicly so the whole organization can see what success looks like.

When you're making big changes, don't fake certainty you don't have. Reorganizing departments? Changing direction? Tell people what you know and what you're still figuring out.¹⁹ They'd rather hear honest uncertainty than manufactured confidence that falls apart later.

Run a monthly all-hands with genuine Q&A time. Document how decisions get made so the process isn't a black box. Some companies practice open-book management and teach employees to understand financial statements and business drivers.

Here's what kills trust fast, though. Only sharing good news while hiding problems. When issues inevitably surface, your credibility disappears.

Regular check-ins and being transparent with decision-making increase trust within the team and enforce a positive work culture. | Image from Wix Media

9. Align Values with Actions Every Day

Culture is defined by what you do, not what you say. Nothing kills trust faster than saying one thing and doing another. Your values on the office wall are meaningless if your actual decisions contradict them. When companies claim to value innovation but punish failure, or tout work-life balance while rewarding those who work 80-hour weeks, cynicism flourishes.²⁰

Values must be visible in hiring, performance reviews, promotions, and especially in how you handle difficult situations. Build values into how you hire. Add them to interview scorecards alongside technical skills. Talk about them in performance reviews and when deciding on promotions. Notice when people embody a value and call it out.²¹

Real stories matter more than documents. When someone lives your values, tell that story in team meetings, company updates, and recognition moments. People learn what values mean by seeing them in action, not by reading policy.

Values get tested when they cost you something. You say you value respect, but you keep your star performer who makes everyone else miserable? You just showed people what actually matters. Fire people who violate core values, even if they hit their targets. Otherwise, your values are just suggestions.²⁰

Talk about values when making decisions. Weighing options? Ask which choice reflects your values. Let values guide the hard calls. Define what each value looks like behaviorally so people know what's expected.

Start by being real about your current state. Do your actual behaviors match your stated values? Where are the gaps? Close them systematically.

Conclusion

All nine of these strategies connect. You can't just pick psychological safety and ignore equity, or focus on recognition while burning people out. They work together, or they don't work at all. These also aren't initiatives with end dates. They're how you need to run your organization on a continuous basis.

Grand gestures don't build culture. Daily decisions do. The manager who recognizes someone's work. The executive who admits they got something wrong. The policy that actually gives people flexibility, rather than just claiming to. Culture emerges from those repeated small choices.

You can't overhaul everything overnight. Start where it hurts most or where you'll see results fastest. Survey your people to find out what actually needs attention. Measure whether you're improving with engagement scores, turnover numbers, and whether employees would recommend you as a workplace. Adjust based on their feedback, not your assumptions.

A positive work culture isn't about being "nice" or avoiding hard conversations. It's about creating conditions where people can do their best work, grow their capabilities, and find meaning in their contributions. The investment pays dividends in performance, innovation, retention, and your ability to attract talent.

This month, commit to one concrete action from these nine strategies. Ask your team which change would make the biggest difference. Then follow through consistently. Culture change happens one decision, one conversation, one action at a time.