Over the course of a lifetime, the average person spends 90,000 hours— about a third of their lives — at work. With that much time on the job, it’s important to have a workplace where the company culture matches your values. And, as a business, it’s important to foster a clear culture that empowers your employees to thrive. LuckyTamm Digital Marketing believes in and practices familial company culture — where the business feels like a family. Read on to learn how to create a company culture, what it means in practice, and why it’s important.
Three Core Values Companies with Family Cultures
At companies with familial cultures, employees feel a sense of respect, receive empathy and caring, and feel a sense of belonging. They’re bound around a common cause and tend to work hard and smart around that cause. Employees are fulfilled — and companies benefit from this stability and loyalty. Here are three ways to establish a business culture that feels like family.
1. Open Lines of Communication
When information flows freely, employees also feel informed about the company’s business practices, goals, and progress. In turn, they feel like important members of the team. Establishing open lines of communication begins at staff meetings, but it doesn’t stop there. Communication may also flow through employee newsletters, communication platforms such as Slack, or informal interactions. In familial companies, employees share fondness and admiration for each other, not just criticism.
2. Family-Building Events
Families might do the business of going to school and work, but they also have plenty of fun time together to bond as well. Companies that create familial company culture know the importance of taking breaks to rest and recharge. This might be accomplished through happy hours or family-building (formerly known as team building) events such as taking cooking classes, volunteering, or other forms of recreation. When problems arise, these relationships help employees approach each other in a positive light, not as adversaries.
3. Showing Empathy
Some organizations chose to have firm rules that emphasize performance over humanity. But high standards and humanity don’t have to be mutually exclusive. Empathy for employees makes them feel understood and like holistic team members. It also often results in better employee engagement and company loyalty. Showing care for employees begins with establishing the value of work-life balance and extends to everyone working as a team when one (or more) members are down. Centering empathy as a key value often extends to other stakeholders as companies demonstrate servant leadership.
Benefits of Familial Company Culture
In the age of the Great Resignation, employee benefits are the name of the game when it comes to hiring top candidates. The best and brightest are often looking for workplaces that are family-centric, something that comes naturally for organizations with familial company cultures. These companies are more likely to offer benefits that allow work-life balance, such as remote work and flexible work hours. Thus, companies with familial company cultures have a competitive advantage.
Potential Pitfalls of Familial Company Culture
In some cases, employers can exploit the values of familial company culture to create toxic work environments. Calling employees “family” may blur the lines between work and home to encourage them to work more and be more readily available to meet the needs of their fellow employees. Fast Company called it “hustle culture at its worst.” Unhealthy family-like company culture may also distort the boundaries between personal and professional relationships leading to unprofessional behavior or paternalistic leadership. It’s incumbent upon the organization to adopt the best facets of familial values and prevent these toxic extremes from developing.
How LuckyTamm Digital Marketing Can Help
LuckyTamm Digital Marketing practices familial company culture within our agency. That family-like approach extends to our clients. We’re glad to share with you about how our company culture has impacted our organization and how family principles could drive your marketing strategy. We offer free consultations. Connect with us, today!
