One Last Word

Conclusion

Our latest research shows a shift in what inspires and motivates employees. In addition to best practices such as modern leadership, growth opportunities, and meaningful recognition, the support of a workplace community is increasingly important. So, how can organizations now help employees harness inspiration and use it in the most productive ways?

As you draw conclusions about this year’s Global Culture Report and identify actions to take in your organization, here are a few points to keep in mind:

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1. Inspiration and support require more than great leaders

Our studies demonstrate that the workplace community also inspires employees, encourages feelings of belonging, provides valuable transparency, and helps employees overcome obstacles to reach their goals. While leaders certainly play a crucial role in inspiring, connecting, and supporting employees, they can’t do it alone. And in many cases, support is more meaningful when it comes from the entire team. It’s also worth remembering strong teams create strong workplace cultures.

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2. It’s time to move beyond engagement

Regardless of how you define it, employee engagement isn’t an end goal. Rather, it’s a means to better business outcomes, and a better means to those same outcomes is great work. In high-performance cultures, great work can power innovation and help organizations compete in fluid, dynamic industries. The practices of inspiration, hope, and recognition all support great work by helping employees succeed—and feel validated and appreciated when they do. Organizations can confidently move forward, setting high expectations and providing high support to encourage innovation toward a common goal together. (See Engagement Revisited in the 2022 Global Culture Report for a comprehensive examination of engagement and great work.)

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3. Organizations need to act

Inspiration, hope, inclusion, and transparency aren’t just noble ideas. They’re entirely realistic goals when organizations put the right principles and steps into practice. The conversion from concept to action applies equally to everyone, from senior leaders to interns. Each person has a role. And when practices become the foundation of policies, processes, training, expectations, and rewards, they come to life daily. Employees understand their role in the organization, what they need to do to succeed, and what they can do to help one another.

Small moments of inspiration—when combined with practices like hope, inclusion, transparency, and support—can drive meaningful change that gains momentum. We hope this year’s findings inspire you to take action, and we wish you every success as your inspired actions create a workplace culture where people thrive.

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“People do not decide to become extraordinary. They decide to accomplish extraordinary things.”
—Edmund Hillary, Mountaineer and Explorer