How Workplace Culture Impacts Employee Well-Being and Team Performance

Healthy workplace culture and strong team relationships are often overlooked as "soft" benefits, yet they directly impact business success. Companies prioritizing only financial performance or innovation often miss the key truth: sustainable results come from teams that value both well-being and collaboration.

The 4 Quadrants of Workplace Culture

We can categorize company cultures using two key dimensions:
- X-axis: How much the culture values individual well-being
- Y-axis: How much it values workplace relationships

This creates four distinct cultural archetypes:

1. School of Sharks: High Relationships, Low Well-Being

Key Characteristics:
- Transactional, competitive environment
- Workaholic culture with high burnout risk
- Relationships valued only for business utility

Impact:
✔ Short-term business results possible
✖ High turnover and health costs
✖ Low employee morale (except for top performers)

Mascot: Shark - constantly hunting for success

2. The Doom Loop: Low Relationships, Low Well-Being

Key Characteristics:
- Apathetic, disengaged workforce
- Minimal effort culture
- Poor performance across all metrics

Impact:
✖ Below-average business results
✖ High cynicism and disengagement
✖ Difficult to change once established

Mascot: Opossum - playing dead to survive

3. Lone Leopards: High Well-Being, Low Relationships

Key Characteristics:
- Strong focus on individual needs
- Limited teamwork or collaboration
- Common in gig economy roles

Impact:
✔ Good for independent workers
✖ Missed innovation opportunities
✖ Lower organizational resilience

Mascot: Leopard - solitary but capable

4. Trusted Teams (Ideal Culture)

Key Characteristics:
- Balances individual well-being with strong relationships
- Abundance mindset
- High engagement and performance

Benefits:
✔ Sustainable business success
✔ Higher employee retention
✔ Better work-life integration

Mascot: Dolphin - social, intelligent, and playful

How to Improve Your Team's Culture

Follow these steps to assess and enhance your workplace:

1. Identify your current culture type

   • Where does your team fall on the relationship/well-being grid?

2. Discuss findings with colleagues

   • Do team members agree on the assessment?

3. Create an action plan

   • Small changes can shift culture over time
   • Focus on both well-being and relationship-building

4. Measure progress

   • Track engagement and performance metrics
   • Conduct regular check-ins

"While we would ideally work in Trusted Teams, we know that some cultures consciously choose another way of being together." - Jen Fisher & Anh Phillips

Try This Exercise:
- Write down which culture type best describes your team
- List 3 specific examples that support your choice
- Share with colleagues and discuss potential improvements

Building a healthy workplace culture takes time, but the rewards—higher performance, better retention, and more satisfied employees—make the effort worthwhile.