Over the past two articles in CRUX Workplace's Workplace Culture series, I've explored What’s Keeping Talent Engaged and How Leaders Are Building a Positive Workplace Culture. In this final installment, we shift our focus to employees and the impact they have on shaping workplace culture.
Employees are instrumental in defining and fostering workplace culture, often citing it as a key reason they choose to stay with an organization. But what steps are culture-minded employees taking to actively cultivate and strengthen a positive work environment?
The professionals we spoke to influence their workplace culture naturally and intentionally in their daily actions, choices, and interactions, contributing to an environment where collaboration, innovation, and connection can flourish.
Here’s how employees are making an impact:
Creating Intentional In-Person Interactions
Culture-minded employees infuse connections into their office days with a focus on relationship-building, brainstorming sessions, and spontaneous collaboration. Many of the professionals we spoke to were holding time in the office for face-to-face interactions by scheduling designated time blocks without virtual calls. This approach ensured that when employees were in the office, they can be fully present for connections with their team or cross-functional interactions.
Instead of becoming siloed within their teams, the professionals we spoke to were reaching across departments to share knowledge and solve problems together. Many of these connections began in shared spaces like cafeterias and coffee points, where impromptu conversations led to unexpected ideas, solutions, and friendships. Thoughtful workplace strategy—ensuring meaningful adjacencies for cross-functional teams with overlapping or shared spaces—can support these interactions. This cross-functional mindset fosters stronger relationships and a more interconnected workplace.
Organizing Social Events and Collaboration
We heard employees take a nostalgic tone as they spoke about social interactions and events of the past. Bringing the "fun" back to work was shared as a top desire for many employees. The professionals we spoke to were contributing to campus-wide events, team celebrations, and informal get-togethers, making space in their schedules for connection. While some took the initiative to organize their own events to recognize team milestones, others made an impact by participating in company-wide gatherings—even if just for a quick stop to show support. These moments of celebration and collaboration strengthen camaraderie and enhance workplace culture.
Celebration is collaboration with its party hat on—the most successful teams embrace collaboration as a core value. Even in teams that did not have shared projects, employees found ways to connect and collaborate on shared issues and processes. These connected teams prioritized peer reviews, whiteboarding sessions, and open dialogue to drive innovation and problem-solving. By creating an environment where ideas can be shared, celebrated, and refined collectively, employees contribute to a workplace culture that values creativity and continuous improvement.
Mentoring and Insight-Sharing
Mentor relationships are inspiring and educational for both the mentee and the mentor. The professionals we spoke to expressed a strong desire to support their new teammates by sharing expertise, offering guidance, and creating opportunities for skill development—sustaining a culture of growth and support within the organization. Learning from employee insights in this way fosters continued success and enhances the capabilities of each role.
Employees hold a wealth of knowledge about their roles, the organization, and the spaces and equipment necessary to optimize their output. Employee engagement serves as a powerful lens into an organization's culture. By contributing to opportunities for sharing employee insights and team best practices—whether through mentorship or employee listening exercises—these professionals help their companies shape a culture that builds on what already works while integrating new, intentional practices.
Empowering Employees to Shape Workplace Culture
Workplace culture isn’t solely shaped by leadership— it’s reinforced daily by employees who bring it to life. When employees actively foster collaboration, build relationships, and create moments of connection, they cultivate a workplace that is engaging, inclusive, and innovative. By prioritizing in-person interactions, cross-functional collaboration, and mentorship, employees strengthen a culture that supports both individual and team success. As organizations evolve, recognizing and amplifying these employee-driven contributions will be key to maintaining a thriving, resilient culture.
Enhancing workplace culture requires a strategic approach that aligns employee behaviors with organizational goals. Workplace consultants help organizations gain deeper insights by assessing engagement patterns, collaboration dynamics, and space utilization. By leveraging employee feedback and best practices, they design and optimize environments that foster collaboration, organic interactions, and meaningful connections. Whether through reimagining office layouts, creating flexible workspaces, or implementing engagement tools, consultants ensure the physical space actively supports and strengthens company culture.
Updated: 6 days ago
While a good workplace culture can sometimes develop naturally when employees enjoy working together and have time to connect, a holistic and sustainable culture is shaped by leadership. Employees look to their leaders not just for the "why" but also to model the desired workplace culture.
From our recent conversations with leaders, it’s clear that there are many ways to build a strong workplace culture. The common priorities among these top leaders were all about engagement, connection, and experience. Below, we’ll share some of the ways they put this into action.
Experiences and Relationships That Stick
While employees today value autonomy, they also seek a balance of structured opportunities to collaborate, network, and build relationships in the workplace. The most effective leaders create this structure by offering a mix of meaningful in-person interactions—such as team training, collaboration days, and company-wide events—while also setting clear and rightsized expectations for office utilization in alignment with their team's needs and the company vision.
While many leaders commented on the success of their events, some expressed concern that the "eventification" of work may lead to the perception that significant moments at work only occur during large-scale events. Serendipitous encounters often top the list of meaningful interactions and are highly desired by leaders and employees alike.
The leaders we spoke to understood the power of workplace design in enabling organic engagement opportunities such as serendipitous encounters. They advocated for flexible workspaces that support everything from individual focus work to informal collaboration and meaningful team adjacencies, inspiring natural cross-functional collaboration.
Fostering relationships within and across teams is another key aspect of building workplace culture. Strong workplace connections contribute directly to retention, and leaders who actively encourage events such as- informal team gatherings, social events, volunteering, and shared meals helped cultivate a sense of belonging and camaraderie. Many leaders emphasized that prioritizing these activities during work hours ensures inclusivity, allowing more employees to participate without sacrificing personal time. It also reinforces the company's commitment to socialization as a valuable aspect of work.
Designing and Activating the Workplace Experience
Thoughtful workplace design can inspire employees to choose the office, especially when it supports their work, relationships, and sense of connection. The best leaders sought to enhance the workplace experience by advocating for work settings that align with the activities employees seek to complete in the office. Many leaders highlighted the need for dynamic meeting spaces, breakout areas, individual focus spaces, and workplace amenities to create an environment that is both comfortable and productive.
One leader emphasized that employee input should drive these decisions, saying, "Based on this feedback, I think soundproofing meeting spaces will make people happier than new carpet." This employee-centered approach to workplace design not only fosters trust and engagement but also significantly improves office effectiveness. Leaders that valued function over finish, ensuring that their teams have the right space, equipment, and level of privacy to make the office a viable place to work saw the most success.
Modeling desired behaviors is one of the most powerful ways leaders cultivate a thriving workplace culture. For example, when employees observe leaders actively using the new types of furniture settings, mentioned above, they are more likely to do the same, reinforcing workplace culture through both design and behavior. Leadership presence goes beyond simply being in the office—it’s about participating in collaborative work, fostering informal discussions, and making time for meaningful connections.
Closing Thoughts
It’s no surprise that leaders play a major role in employee retention. They shape workplace culture, influencing whether employees feel engaged, valued, and connected to their organization. In companies where employees have a strong cultural bond but experience toxic leadership, there’s often a higher risk of departures—and those employees may take their colleagues with them.
Successful leaders create meaningful interactions that help employees grow together and strengthen relationships. They advocate for workplace experiences that align with their team’s needs, whether that means renovating office spaces, dedicating wall space to team accomplishments, or simply fostering an interactive work environment. Most importantly, these leaders are present, interacting with their teams, and reinforcing the values that drive both organizational and team success.
Workplace consultants can help leaders better understand employee needs and create experiences that empower teams to thrive. Assessments such as the Knight Index and tools like Team Agreements provide valuable insights into managing and engaging dispersed teams effectively.
Check out all the articles in our Workplace Culture 3-part series!
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