Is Your Workplace “Flourishing”?

There are a number of different words that could be used to describe a happy, productive workplace.  I chose “flourishing” because I want to emphasize the links between well-adjusted employees, dynamic teams, and organizational success.  (And yes, if you know about my philosophy background, you will probably have picked up on the nod to Aristotle!)

Flourishing workplaces share a number of features, whether the work environment is industrial or white-collar, academic or professional, generation-Y casual or established and staid.

These are some of the differences between flourishing and non-flourishing (withering?) workplaces:

In a flourishing workplace people feel free to speak their minds.  They share reservations about plans and projects.  They ask hard questions without fear of reprisal.  In a non-flourishing workplace, people feel they have to “tiptoe” around others and they keep their concerns about workplace issues to themselves.  The whole organization is weaker as a result.

In a flourishing workplace meetings are lively.  Everyone is engaged.  Employees understand that if they speak up, their concerns will be acknowledged, even if decisions do not always go their way. In a non-flourishing workplace, meetings are painful.  They may be boring, with “surface harmony” masking a lack of engagement.  They may be acrimonious and hostile, indicating a lack of mutual respect.  Or meetings may seem continually to cover the same ground, because a consensus about basic issues has never been achieved.

In a flourishing workplace “water-cooler talk” is social.  Employees do not engage in negative gossip about one another or about the organization.  When casual conversation is work-related, it is constructive and in a spirit of problem-solving.  In a non-flourishing workplace, casual conversation is fueled by rumours, back-stabbing, and fear of possible change.

In a flourishing workplace people deal with one another (and with other divisions) directly.  If a conflict arises, people try to solve it face-to-face rather than by e-mail or by phone.  (I’ve written previously about the dangers of email communication.)  They understand how to raise concerns in a respectful manner.  In a non-flourishing workplace, employees may turn to elaborate back-channel strategies rather than confront one another directly, wasting effort and time that could be spent more productively.



Most important of all, in a flourishing workplace employees are engaged by their work and motivated to do their best.  They feel that what they are doing is important and that their contribution matters.  In a non-flourishing workplace, morale is low.  Employees do not feel connected to one another or to the work that they do.  This may be evident in higher-than-average rates of sick leave, unexplained absenteeism or low employee retention rates.

Which better describes your workplace, flourishing or non-flourishing?

Note:  I formulated these ideas with the help of Dr. Pamela Hudak.  Pam and I work together as Principled Dispute Resolution and Consulting.  Contact us if you’d like to learn more about how to make your workplace flourish.