8 Benefits of Fostering a Caring Culture and How to Get Started
“While 85 percent of HR leaders agree or strongly agree connection is critical for their organization’s success, only 4 percent of HR respondents strongly agree that they’ve adequately addressed the challenges with employee connection at work. Leaders recognize the importance of connection in the workplace but admit they have not taken adequate action to foster it.”
- Marcel Schwantes, 3 in 5 Employees Would Consider Quitting Because of This Reason Research Says
A caring culture instills pride in employees, builds trust and connection, and serves as a critical differentiator in a competitive market. When the values of a caring culture become ingrained in management and employees, they become a part of the organization's DNA, transforming them into a powerful force for change. The positive ripple effect is felt by the entire ecosystem of the organization: employees, management, leaders, customers and beyond.
“It is necessary to build organizations that "dare to care" by fostering mutual love and helping, a sense of community where caring is inspired by a deep understanding of human conditions and vulnerability and rooted in the DNA of the organization.”
(Bouckaert, 2019; Delios, 2010; Héjj, 2019)
Prioritizing a caring culture can be a difficult decision for organizational leaders. Where is the return on investment? What does this have to do with profitability? While the financial benefits of a caring culture don't translate into a specific line item on a financial statement, they are real and impactful long-term.
A caring culture results in:
Increased awareness of the importance of mental health in the workplace
Reduced stigma and increased acceptance of those experiencing mental health challenges
Increased engagement of employees in social support
Lower absenteeism and reduced sick leave
Accelerated use of employee assistance programs
Increased access to professional care
Decreased long- and short-term disability claims
Reduced employee attrition / increased employee loyalty
Engagement flows from the top.
Cultivating a caring culture does take time. It necessitates, first and foremost, leadership planning and execution. As a leader, you must begin with a critical first step: paradigm shifts among senior executives.
The paradigm shift entails having leaders consider thinking about their employees differently, such as how they relate to their employees’ lived experiences and how these can enhance the overall employee experience. At MHI, we believe it is critical to shift from viewing mental health issues as a liability, to viewing them as a force multiplier.
When someone is struggling with their mental health, we must support them; however, we also consider what happens to these people after their recovery. They have a wealth of wisdom and insight, "lived experience," that could support others within the organization. We know something incredible happens to workplace cultures when the leader of the organization takes actions consistent with this perspective:
“your experience with a mental health challenge is not a liability or a financial risk for us, rather it is a valuable asset that could make a difference for a colleague within our organization.”
People with lived mental health experience are certainly present in any organization and are part of the formula for crowdsourcing human benevolence and fostering a caring culture.
Shifting organizational culture towards one that is more open and less stigmatizing is a crucial place to start, and engagement flows from the top. As a leader, you need to confidently take action to support your people and transform your organization.
People caring about people is a critical element of fostering high performance.
And on that note, we've developed The Caring Culture Playbook based on our 20+ years of experience working with leaders. It's a guide to building a caring culture where employees feel safe talking about mental health and confident in supporting one another.
That's the power of being connected to our shared human experience.
The Caring Culture Playbook ensures your actions will result in long-term, sustainable change in your organization's culture and your people.
When you sign up to receive your free Playbook, you will also get access to additional resources (such as a template for "Shifting the Paradigm Executive Micro-Conference") about the programs that support the Playbook's strategies and generate real, measurable and tangible results.
Get started on transforming your organization today.