Hello and Happy Thursday!
I gotta say, I’ve been abuzz since re-launching this newsletter last week. Missed our first issue? Don't worry - you can find it here. I've got you!
It’s so good to be back in your inbox and I love hearing about your 2023 highlights. If you didn’t get a chance last week, I’d still love to hear from you. Hit reply and let me know what’s been going on in your world lately.
This week, I want to discuss a word you’ll hear often around here: culture.
It was the word that launched my journey to better workplaces. In the more than 15 years since, I’ve learned a lot about what culture is - and what culture most certainly isn’t.
And I tell ya, it’s the “what it isn’t” that’s become something of a soap box issue for me.
::gets on soap box::
Perks are not culture. I repeat: perks are NOT culture.
::gets off soap box::
Why do so many people confuse the two? I’ll dig into just that below.
Yours in Better Workplaces,
Jill
P.S. Happy Pride month to all my fellow queers! ❤️🧡💛💚💙💜
I’ll be spending the month learning more about the brave queer souls who bravely fought so I can enjoy the rights I do today. I’ll be sure to share links (like this one) to my favorite reads.
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Reflect On This
How would you describe your company’s culture?
Does your description include perks offerings (think: happy hours, health benefits, unlimited time off, office yoga)?
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Perks doth not a culture make.
It’s a phenomenon too common on Careers pages internet-wide. You “click here to learn about our amazing culture,” and land on a page of smiling employees gathered ‘round a ping pong table (or impressive snack kitchen, or top-of-the-line espresso maker, or…). Below is a two-line blurb about Company Values, followed by bullet points that outline a slew of enticing perks.
It makes sense. We care about people, and we want to do everything in our power and resources to treat them well. And make no mistake, a robust perks package is a good thing. It’s a tangible way to show your team care and generosity, and can prove solid recognition and support of their lives outside of work.
But perks doth not a culture make.
It begs an important question: what even is Culture? For a concise and encompassing definition, I often return to Katelin Holloway who said “culture consists of the beliefs, behaviors, and shared values of any community.”
So then why do people conflate perks with culture? Because it’s easy.
It’s WAY easier to rattle off some perks than it is to capture a culture. A culture is a complex organism, shifting subtly with each team evolution while still remaining true to itself. Defining and communicating the beliefs, behaviors, and values that anchor and nurture a culture is tricky! It makes total sense to assume (or maybe to hope) that a nice neat list of perks would just as efficiently let someone know what to expect of their experience.
Let’s turn to my favorite, the infamous ping-pong table, to demonstrate how the same perk could be experienced by teammates in two organizations with differing cultures.
Organization #1
The Perk: A Ping-Pong Table
The Belief: If you have enough time to play ping pong, you don't have enough work to do.
The Behavior: Few employees, if any, use the ping pong table.
Organization #2
The Perk: A Ping-Pong Table
The Belief: Breaks are a necessary part of creativity. Taking a break away from your desk improves your productivity.
The Behavior: Employees use the table during the day and end up meeting people from other departments.
See the difference? Same table, two vastly different ways of behaving. It’s the culture that defines the meaning of the ping-pong table - not the other way around.
Let’s apply the same framework again, this time to the offering of unlimited vacation time.
Organization #1
The Perk: Unlimited Vacation
The Belief: If I use more vacation time than my team members, it will seem like I’m the least dedicated person in the group.
The Behavior: Employees pay attention to how much vacation their manager and peers take before scheduling their time off. Teammates generally take little vacation time, and the benefit sees little uptake or engagement.
Organization #2
The Perk: Unlimited Vacation
The Belief: Taking care of your mental health is just as important as taking care of your physical health.
The Behavior: Employees feel safe and empowered to take mental health days when needed. The team reports little burnout and high engagement.
Yes, these are simple examples for the sake of an exercise. But they illustrate an important distinction: perks are the tangible rewards you make available. Your culture is what dictates how employees engage with those perks.
Of course, there’s way more to company culture than perk utilization. But that’s an email for another time. 😉
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Your Turn
There’s no time like the present to practice communicating your company’s culture. Thinking about your current perks through a culture lens is a great point of entry, and this exercise will help you get started.
Step One: Pick a perk or benefit your company currently offers.
Step Two: Consider how that perk is currently utilized. What behaviors do your employees take in relation to that specific perk?
Step Three: Work back from the behavior to brainstorm some of the beliefs that could be influencing it, based on what you know about “how things work” at your company.
Tip: Sometimes opposing beliefs can drive the same behavior.
For example:
The Perk: Monthly happy hours
The Beliefs: 1) If I don’t show my face at the happy hour, I’ll be seen as unengaged VS 2) Happy hours are the best way to build meaningful relationships with employees from different teams.
The Behavior: Most employees attend every happy hour - some more enthusiastically than others.
Uncovering and naming your company culture is like one big safari. Stay open and curious, keep your eyes peeled, and I promise you’ll uncover new surprises around every corner!
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Thing We're Loving Right Now
Get ready, get set, bookmark!
- Gift meaningfully: I can’t lie, all this perk talk has me thinking about gift boxes. If you love a good gift box, KnackShops has some of the best. Customizable? Check. Fit for any occasion? Check. Beautifully, thoughtfully curated selection that uplifts women- and minority-owned businesses? Check and check.
- "We're a great place to work!": But are they really? If you’re currently interviewing for a new role, we highly recommend giving episode 13 of the Want To Work There podcast a listen. It includes 12 must-ask questions to help uncover cultural truths.
- Minnesota being Minne-so-cool: The North Star state became the 12th state in the nation to adopt legislation guaranteeing paid family and medical leave. Starting in 2026, workers in the state will be entitled to 12 weeks of paid time to care for a newborn or a sick family member, and/or to care for their own serious illness. Employees in both circumstances can clock 20 paid weeks in a calendar year.
- Parental leave policies for all!: Even a small team can show big love by implementing the right parental leave policy for their operations and culture. Superkin hooks you up with the tools you need to take care of your caregivers.
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