Company culture is more important than money to many job seekers

There are many definitions of what constitutes company values and culture but workplace consulting and research company Gallup reckons it boils down to “how we do things around here”. And new research from LinkedIn suggests the “how” increasingly matters to those weighing up whether or not to join an organisation.

The LinkedIn research is global but includes responses from 1,000 Irish-based employees; just over half of them would not apply for a job at a company that did not share their values, even for a hike in salary.

“What we’re seeing is a growing cohort who are not prepared to compromise when it comes to work,” says Lisa Finnegan, vice-president international HR at LinkedIn. “Misalignment of values can be a deal-breaker, particularly for younger generations as they look for positions that have a positive impact on society and seek to align their personal and professional lives.”

At a practical level, the “how we do things” of corporate culture is about basics such as work patterns. Does the organisation facilitate flexitime or remote working?

Karan Sonpar, professor of organisational behaviour at the UCD School of Business, adds that while an alignment of values is important across generations, it seems to matter more to younger people and plays a key role in their choice of employer. “In particular, they are both aware of and monitor corporate attitudes towards sustainability and workplace diversity and inclusion,” he says.

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“They are less likely to view work as a career and tend to place a greater emphasis on work as a calling and want to make a difference in areas they care about. This is a consequence of growing up in a more culturally and socially open society, being constantly attuned to the pervasive discourse on environmental degradation, being hypervisible due to their engagement with social media and receiving greater tolerance for individualism.”

At a practical level, the “how we do things” of corporate culture is about basics such as work patterns. Does the organisation facilitate flexitime or remote working, for example?

[ Company culture: Seeking the right fit ]

Dig a bit deeper, however, and it quickly become clear that culture is complex because it touches almost every aspect of a business, from its policy on disposable coffee cups to its stance on ethical trading, CSR, innovation and how committed it is to diversity.

Dig down a few more layers and culture speaks to the behaviours and attitudes that characterise the organisation. Does it feel like a safe place to work? Is it an environment where it’s okay to try something and fail? Is there a fundamental respect between colleagues? If there’s bad behaviour, will it be stopped or swept under the carpet, as the recent implosion at Confederation of British Industry shows still happens even in organisations supposed to be pointing the way for others?

“Culture is what happens when nobody is watching,” says Prof Sonpar. “It is like the personality of an organisation, and it leaves a deep and subconscious imprint on who we are and how we conduct ourselves. Building and sustaining culture is hard work and occurs through daily routines, norms and practices, and these become more difficult to maintain in organisations with new [post-pandemic] working arrangements.”

Workers are keen to identify any red flags that would put them off taking a position, such as a lack of career growth and learning opportunities, lack of flexible working options and unclear diversity, equity and inclusion commitments

Finnegan says that since LinkedIn provided a tool for its customers to post information about their culture and values on their company profiles late last year, more than 40,000 have done so, which may be a sign that going public is increasingly seen as a differentiator in the marketplace.

“There has been a 154 per cent increase in entry-level jobs featuring culture and values in their adverts over the last two years, while job postings that mention values like culture, flexibility and wellbeing are getting nearly three times more views and twice as many applications as they did two years ago,” she says.

However, Prof Sonpar is not so sure that all is as it seems. He says that while in theory this is the case, in reality “there is a fair bit of showboating, corporate hypocrisy and greenwashing going around”.

Companies are also unsure about how exactly these policies need to be implemented, given their conflicting business and social goals along with the unintended consequences of good intentions,” he says.

“For instance, do greater idiosyncratic deals such as working from home for certain categories of people create greater inequities for those who cannot avail of these hybrid work arrangements? How much intrusion into one’s wellbeing is appropriate? To what extent are consumers willing and able to pay for more socially and environmentally conscious products and work practices? What are the costs and consequences of setting false expectations and making promises that cannot be delivered?”

Work-life balance is at the top of the list when it comes to what people will ask a potential employer about in order to be sure that a role is right for them

When it comes to sorting out those who talk the talk but don’t walk the walk, Irish job seekers are not shy about asking leading questions of prospective employers. “Workers are keen to identify any red flags that would put them off taking a position, such as a lack of career growth and learning opportunities, lack of flexible working options and unclear diversity, equity and inclusion commitments,” says Finnegan.

“Work-life balance is at the top of the list when it comes to what people will ask a potential employer about in order to be sure that a role is right for them. But job seekers also feel very comfortable asking about flexible working hours and work location. Family considerations also matter, so people increasingly want to know about maternity and paternity leave and mental health policies, including how an employer will protect employees from burnout.”