The atmosphere is work culture

"I've worked for almost 30 years for different employers, and we've never talked about the atmosphere. It hasn't felt necessary. This was the first time I have been in coaching on the subject. And now I have to thank you – this was a gift!”  

The above is an anonymized quote from a spontaneous feedback I received in a coaching session. The topic of the training had been atmosphere - why it is important, what it means, how each person builds it. We are used to the fact that when we talk about work and the working community, we talk about results and doing, but it is still unfortunately common that atmosphere is not on the agenda. When you think of it as awkward, dim lighting, candle flames and the hint of incense. Not work related. 

The fact is that the atmosphere is a real talking point. Kehtaan claims that the atmosphere and related issues can be found as significant factors in the background of all hard results¹. The kind of atmosphere in which the work is done directly affects the quantity and quality of work, which in turn determines the final result. A good atmosphere, researched² (and according to almost everyone's own experience base) causes that there is more energy to do, the quality of doing is better, and even our own brain works better. These often lead directly to better results than a bad mood that creates an aversion to doing and the interactions required by the results. 

At least since the 1980s, psychologists have studied the effect of happiness and a good mood on doing. One of the pioneering studies is a study led by Alice Isen, which investigated the effect of a good mood on problem-solving ability. The subjects were given a cork board on the wall, a box of pins, a candle and a match, and were instructed to light the candle using the given tools on the board so that no stearin spilled onto the floor or table. The basic group was simply given these tools and instructions, and 10 minutes to complete the task. In the given time, only 13 % were able to solve the task. One control group was shown a 5-minute long comedy film before the performance, the aim of which was to put them in a good mood. From this group, 75 % subjects could solve the task. The conclusion of the study was that the majority of this difference was due to the mood of the test subjects when the performance began. Even if only half or a third of the 62 percentage point improvement could be explained by a good mood, this is still a really significant difference. This is one result of one study, but again and again different studies show that a good mood has a direct effect on the quality of work. 

The atmosphere creates memories

Another reason why atmosphere matters is quite mundane. It is perhaps best summed up by the late American author Maya Angelou when she said that “People forget what you said. They forget what you. But they'll never forget how you made them feel." The more time passes, the harder it is for us to remember the actions and words of individual people, but we can almost always describe what we think of a person based on how they made us feel. Was it pleasant to work with him, did I have to be on my guard all the time, did we get things done together? The same applies to work communities - over time, we remember what kind of atmosphere prevailed in the community, and it affects our evaluations and the thoughts we speak out loud about the community.  

The atmosphere is not awkward or just external factors. The atmosphere of the community consists of repeated and permanent feelings, which in the long run become part of the culture. My background is, among other things, the culture of a caring atmosphere, the culture of a pressurized atmosphere and the culture of an energetic atmosphere in different work communities. In all of these, I achieved results of my own level - but in what time, with what number of mistakes and at what personal cost, it varied.  

Smart management understands that a genuine good atmosphere enables better results and that the racket is not squeezed so that the best performers start to collapse under the pressure one by one. It is possible to influence the atmosphere. It is owned not only by the management, but also by every employee of the company. If your concern is your company's ability to execute, it's worth giving a few thoughts to how the atmosphere affects the level of work we do. We can help here if necessary.  

If you remember one thought from this text, let it be that the atmosphere really matters. If you want to remember more than one thing, remember the reasons for the importance of atmosphere: 1) The atmosphere directly affects the level of performance and 2) the atmosphere leaves the longest memory.  

And how to develop that atmosphere? We will be happy to tell you more! Contact us and we'll talk more. 

Ps. The solution to Alice Isen's test was to empty the box of pins, attach it to a cork board and light a candle to burn the box.  

Find out more about the topic, e.g. through the following publications: 

1 Ahveinainen, Gylling and Leino in their book "Viiden Tähten Customer Experience" (Kaupppamari 2017), p.32.

2 Isen, Daubman & Nowicki 1987, Positive Affect Facilitates Creative Problem Solving. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 1987 vol 52 no 6. 1122-1131. https://www.factorhappiness.at/downloads/quellen/S11_Isen.pdf