What our Community Says About Relational Workplace Culture
Proactively building strong and healthy relationships is a cornerstone of restorative practices. In workplaces, restorative practices are used to enhance diverse and resilient teams through a focus on responsibility, respect, and inclusive participation. Research shows that this sparks creativity and innovative ways of thinking. When used with fidelity, restorative practices in the workplace create teams wherein all members have a voice and work more effectively together.
Bringing a relational philosophy to workplaces may challenge some traditional systems of command-and-control; however, the theory and practice of building a better workplace climate is rooted in a culture of trust, a shared vision, and a personal sense of value. Small shifts in how colleagues interact with each other can deepen trust, engagement, and mutual accountability, fostering a more connected, productive, and cohesive workplace culture.
With these guiding principles in mind, we recently asked our US and international community about this topic: "What do you believe are the elements of a healthy workplace and what practices support them?" Here is a summary of those responses:
It’s grounded in and supports emotional safety.
When organization values are centered around kindness, tolerance, respect, conflict resolution, and ongoing learning, employees experience psychological safety. In those environments, employees are more likely to proactively address concerns, report errors more quickly, learn from mistakes, and collaborate more openly for more productive and effective outputs. They also become less likely to experience burnout and disengagement.
Decisions are made through a participatory and engaging process.
Following the principles of Fair Process, shared decision-making includes engagement of all stakeholders, clear explanation of how the decision will be finalized, and clarified expectations around how everyone will give voice to these considerations. Horizontal engagement processes create spaces that elevate all voices. These processes not only increase the employees’ sense of belonging in an organization, but individuals impacted by a decision are more likely to support the process, despite desiring a different outcome, when they are allowed to actively participate in the process.
Leaders promote expectation-clarity.
Clear and consistent expectations promote fairness while reducing stress, anxiety, and conflict. Gallup cites that globally, only 50% of employees understand what is expected of them at work. In many cases, expectations go far beyond job descriptions to include more implicit aspects. When employees have expectation-clarity, they are more likely to be engaged and productive. Including regular check-ins, open communication, and recognition can support expectation clarity. Further, a relational workplace can encourage employees to more readily approach supervisors with concerns when their understanding no longer matches expectations.
There are healthy communication practices from all directions.
When mechanisms are in place for regular, respectful feedback, both positive and responsive, it opens communication channels. Practices like gratitude and celebration circles to provide recognition can help promote positive feedback. Beyond that, asking for consistent feedback from colleagues in leadership, across other departments, and subordinates within a team opens lines of transparent communication.
All members of the organization experience dignified working conditions.
Organization policies that respect people’s dignity and emphasize humane treatment and attention to well-being help employees feel valued and connected. These principles can extend to individual contracts and collective agreements. In a labor market where 60% of people rate organization benefits as a very important contributor to job satisfaction, the impact is much larger than employee retention. It lends itself to employee engagement, which can impact productivity, motivation, and overall morale.
Take the Next Step
To learn more about restorative practices in the workplace, visit our Leadership, Management, & Workplace Resources, join us at an upcoming session of Restorative Practices at Work: Relational Tools for Culture Change and Navigating Conflict: Restorative Practices in the Workplace, or join other restorative practitioners on our social media channels.
