Workplace Culture Shifts — Why and What to Do

Sometimes it erupts, other times it rumbles and still again, it might flow in gently. However it arrives, workplace culture shifts can impact your workload, relationships, and job satisfaction.

Reasons Why Workplace Culture Shifts Happen

Mergers: Internal or external joining together of two different groups of people can be confusing, even chaotic. Turf wars begin. One faction thinks their way of doing things is far superior to the other’s. Time in service comes up as does prior successes. Maybe it’s a David and Goliath merger where who is the most powerful is not necessarily the biggest. You might find the need to defend things you never cared about or even disagreed with, simply to hold your ground. An elegant merger takes planning, a deep understanding of the people impacted, and directed execution. Every participant experiences it from his or her own vantage point, so achieving unity is a giant task.

Acquisitions: Many acquisitions are short-term investments by outsiders with the sole goal of making money. Understanding this can be a bitter pill to swallow if in fact you have given your talents and energy to developing a solid organization. Workplace culture can shift from comradery to competition, with some people going into survival mode. The unknown can be very stressful and distracting. Strangers are now making critical decisions that directly impact you. Some employees kick into a higher gear, others become paralyzed. Economies are almost a fact of life when an acquisition (or merger) occurs. Not everyone will be invited to stay at the table and everyone knows it.

Re-organizations: Sometimes organizations see the need to reassign their talent. Purely functional teams become cross-functional and/or multi-discipline and are broader or more creative. Often, it’s a good idea. The challenge for the workplace culture shift is it’s different than before and most people, despite what they claim, hate, or at least are leery, of change. This reassignment can bring an assortment of types, with very different perspectives, together. Handled right, it can be exciting and expanding for everyone. Done wrong, it is highly disruptive and counterproductive.

New Leaders: A CEO is hired from the outside, a junior person is promoted over more seasoned workers, the son/daughter of the founder has now taken the helm. Every one of them has a vision and wants to make their mark, quickly. In the case of the outsider, people will do their formal and informal research on the person. The formal — LinkedIn searches — tell you facts often influenced by the owner. The more casual vetting is done talking with a network. The challenge with this is it often isn’t accurate and is generally not relevant to you. What it can do is strike fear in the hearts of many. Before the person even walks in the door, they are pegged as “not one of us.” Excellent leaders are sensitive to the new workplace culture shift they are now are part of. They make gentle but intentional shifts in how people think and act. At some point the new leader might conclude that a radical move must take place and knowingly shift the workplace culture. Where is your place?

New Mission: It’s not hard to think of companies or organizations that had to radically shift for financial or political reasons. It’s virtually impossible to retain a former workplace culture in a new environment. Ideally, the leaders attempt to retain the best of the former way of thinking, acting, and doing things — but it generally is a shoe that no longer fits. Some members of the team are flexible and can adapt, others find the change impossible or diligently work to maintain the past. This latter type has a mindset that can be toxic to change and the future of the program.

What to Do When You’re in a Workplace Culture Shift

There are a few actions you can take. You might need to work on all of them simultaneously.

1. Attempt to rationally assess the situation. Try to take emotion out of it. Step back and look at the situation objectively using a 100,000-foot attitude approach to take in the entire picture. What is happening here? Why was this decision made? What’s in it for me?
2. Visit your emotional place and admit to yourself how it feels — scary, exciting, abandoning, threatening? Make a list of at least 10 feelings that come up. Now it’s out in the open and removed from your churning stomach.
3. Talk to people in your network, internal and external, about how they see it. I’d be careful not to play too many cards in front of anyone. Ask their advice. Don’t disclose.
4. Predict the future. That’s right, take out your crystal ball and see what you see. You’d be surprised how strong your intuition can be if you summon it.
5. Think of the worst-case scenario. Something vivid like “I’ll be homeless next week,” or “My partner will leave me,” or “The kids will be placed in foster care.” The more ridiculous the better because you can laugh at your out of control imagination and then focus on reality.
6. Imagine a best-case outcome. “We’re acquired! I own a piece of the company and we have a record breaking IPO. I’m set for life!” “Laid off, get a big severance package, move, and open the restaurant I always dreamed of owning.” Always look for the silver lining.
7. Force yourself to fit-in. Even if it is only short-lived, give it a try. That new team or boss might be better than your former. It’s time you learned a new way of doing things and you could always use a few more smart colleagues and friends. Work as if it is going to work.
8. Contemplate a job search. Crank up your networking. Get that LinkedIn profile updated along with your resume. Talk to the headhunters when they call. Show yourself you have an escape hatch. The phrase is “job search” not “job move.” You’re dating around for now, not committing to anyone or anything.

Workplace culture-shifts are a regular occurrence. To thrive in one, rather than just survive, you need to anticipate ways it could occur and what actions you might take to get the most from it while holding on to your sanity.