A quarter of energy and utilities workers (25 percent) feel like outsiders at work with almost a fifth (19 percent) not considering their workplace to be a ‘community.’ This is despite the majority of energy and utilities workers (71 percent) wanting to feel a strong sense of belonging at work. These are the findings from O.C. Tanner’s 2023 Global Culture Report which collected and analyzed the perspectives of over 36,000 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and business executives from 20 countries around the world, including 747 energy and utilities workers.
According to the report, there are eight key factors that provide a workplace with a strong sense of community, including shared goals, commitment, communication, feedback, camaraderie, trust, adaptation and unity. Of these, energy and utilities workers ranked camaraderie/relationship with team members as the most important aspect for nurturing belonging (cited by 82 percent of respondents).
“Thriving cultures have a strong sense of community that brings and holds employees together” says Georgia Portwain, Culture and Engagement Strategist from workplace culture expert O.C. Tanner. “Employees who feel that they belong will stay at the company for longer, will be more resilient to change and are more likely to deliver great work.”
The findings reveal that organizations that score high on the ‘community index’ are 100 percent more likely to have employees that produce aspirational levels of great work, with a 58 percent lower probability of their employees actively looking for another job.
Despite such compelling reasons to build a workplace community, just 57 percent of energy and utilities workers believe that creating a community is a priority for their organizational leaders.
Portwain adds, “Leaders need to recognize that having a strong and sustaining workplace community is the foundation of organizational success, and so they must find ways to bring their people together and create an environment of trust, unity and appreciation.”
About O.C. Tanner
O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee experiences. Its Culture Cloud is a suite of apps and solutions, including recognition, service awards, wellbeing, leadership, and celebrations that help people thrive at work. O.C. Tanner provides these and other services for thousands of the most respected companies in the world. For more information visit www.octanner.com/uk
