Over the past 20-30 years, companies and other work functional groups have taken note of organizational culture. Mission statements, visions, and values have been formalized and emphasized in new employee training and restructuring efforts. Meanwhile, human resource departments have emerged as critical to company compliance and environmental stability. At the same time, interpersonal communication--at varying levels of organizations--continue to shape employee attitudes and behaviors. As companies aggressively or passively develop organizational culture, they risk the emergence of counterculture.
Counterculture arises as two or more people find disagreements with company objectives, company operations, supervisory/co-worker attitudes, and other primarily internal concerns. Specific issues include company rules, disciplinary actions, quotas, and communication (or lack thereof). In some cases, managers and peers notice resistance developing and seek to squash it. At other times, managers and peers turn blind eyes towards any existing resistance. In either case, emerging counterculture can poison a work environment, damaging managers' and peers' credibility and lowering employee morale.
The emergence of counterculture is common in today's workplace--perhaps too common. As with other workplace and life concerns, simply treating symptoms does not get to the root of the problem. That is, fighting off resistance movements without gaining insight on potential problems fails to address the situation fully. Likewise, ignoring symptoms all together requires alternate intervention or else creates a placebo effect, a false sense of hope. That is, ignoring resistance movements can work if the resistance is weak and unfounded. However, ignoring potential problems may only delay outward expressions of resistance, or worse, can cultivate further resistance due to just causes.
In the end, the best way to address counterculture is to look beyond surface level attitudes and behaviors and seek to understand the roots of the problems at hand, addressing what needs to be addressed. Otherwise, companies risk the dangers of high employee turnover and failed operations.
Counterculture arises as two or more people find disagreements with company objectives, company operations, supervisory/co-worker attitudes, and other primarily internal concerns. Specific issues include company rules, disciplinary actions, quotas, and communication (or lack thereof). In some cases, managers and peers notice resistance developing and seek to squash it. At other times, managers and peers turn blind eyes towards any existing resistance. In either case, emerging counterculture can poison a work environment, damaging managers' and peers' credibility and lowering employee morale.
The emergence of counterculture is common in today's workplace--perhaps too common. As with other workplace and life concerns, simply treating symptoms does not get to the root of the problem. That is, fighting off resistance movements without gaining insight on potential problems fails to address the situation fully. Likewise, ignoring symptoms all together requires alternate intervention or else creates a placebo effect, a false sense of hope. That is, ignoring resistance movements can work if the resistance is weak and unfounded. However, ignoring potential problems may only delay outward expressions of resistance, or worse, can cultivate further resistance due to just causes.
In the end, the best way to address counterculture is to look beyond surface level attitudes and behaviors and seek to understand the roots of the problems at hand, addressing what needs to be addressed. Otherwise, companies risk the dangers of high employee turnover and failed operations.