How to assess a working environment

Like all living things, humans work best when perfectly-suited to their environment.

Unlike almost¹ every other living thing, humans have created their own “environments” in which they work. We call these human-made environments “cultures.”

Unlike absolutely every other living thing, humans (at least, those living in developed, 21st century economies) have a choice over the specific micro-culture in which they work. Choosing a working environment to which we are perfectly-suited is the process of deciding which company, or which division, will enable us to perform our best work.

The importance of a good working environment

Culture was not an afterthought for Daphne, Founder of the Vendry, when she started to build her company. It underpinned every aspect of its business performance, her own motivation, and acted as a key value proposition to other prospective co-workers.

Working environment is the difference between an unbearable job and a fulfilling one; between burnout and exponential personal growth; between a failing business and a soaring success.

When we choose to join a company, we commit our professional selves to its working environment. The choice is not a trivial one; our working habitat will be the key decider of our learning opportunities, our job satisfaction, and even our happiness, for the duration of a time we are part of the company.

Co-founder and CTO Theo found out the benefits to a company of a healthy working culture first hand after suffering burnout:

Almost by definition, our greatest source of information on what a company’s working environment is like is the interview process. Here, we can look inside the black box of a company’s self-contained culture, and glean clues as to what life within it looks like. These clues could even, as Lead Developer Nikita suggests, hint at what the work itself will be like.

What makes a good working environment?

All people are unique; ergo, every individual seeks something different in their ideal working environment. Each of us is perfectly-adapted to a slightly different habitat.

That said, it is possible to define at a high-level some characteristics that, generally, a positive working environment will share. Engineering Manager Hannah outlines a few of these.

Respect

Respect for employees rings loudly in Hannah’s assessment. While Fordism still informs many aspects of contemporary working life, it is increasingly recognised that overt micro-management stifles workers’ potential. Working cultures that are founded on principles of mutual respect typically allow more room for creative problem-solving and personal growth.

One facet of a company culture based on mutual respect is one of challenge, as Head of Delivery Kristian explains.

In environments where everyone is passionate about their work and motivated towards the business’s end goal, it is to be expected that different people will have different views on how best to solve a particular problem. Positive working environments are characterised by an ability to conduct these kinds of debate respectfully, but without fear of being ostracised for voicing a contradictory opinion.

Learning

As Hannah also alluded to, learning and development are key elements of a positive working environment in and of itself. Companies that take active steps to develop their employees’ skillsets have a natural advantage, both in terms of performance and retention, over those that don’t.

Autonomy

Closely tied to the principle of respect is that of autonomy - allowing workers to approach their work in ways that suit them.

In its most high-profile sense, this takes the form of workplace flexibility. Since the COVID-19 pandemic, remote working - which was on the rise anyway - has seen an explosion of prevalence. Companies the world over have realised that remote working works, and it is something that workers are now able to expect at least a degree of for jobs (such as engineering) that don’t require a physical on-site presence.

However, truly autonomous cultures run deeper than mere work-from-home policies. Autonomy facilitates self-actualisation through work, by enabling people to approach business and organisational problems in the way that they see most fit. Product Manager Viviana explains why she feels this improves engineering performance, as well as the happiness of engineers.

Pace

We have seen, in Theo’s account, the negative impacts that burnout can have on individuals, and by extension the businesses they work for. The pace of work is therefore something that is worth considering when deciding on a workplace environment.

This one is often overlooked, but it is a fine balancing act that is crucial to get right. In too slow an environment, we will stagnate. In too fast an environment, we run the risk of burnout. There is a sweet spot of sustainable pace that effective companies aim for, as CTO and co-founder Chris explains.

How to spot a bad environment

While it helps to know the positive qualities of a “good” working environment, it is equally important to know how to spot a bad one.

As above, our best source of information here is during the interview process. When given the opportunity to ask your interviewers your own questions², it pays to ask searching questions that get to the heart of a company’s culture and approach, and to be wary of stock answers.

Nikita has an unusual approach for gleaning extra insight around an (on-site) interview:

Ideally, we spot an environment that doesn’t suit us before we join a business. But it can take time for the signs to set in. Additionally, the match changes over time, because neither individuals nor cultures are static. For that reason, it is worth paying heed to Laura’s words on how to spot when we no longer suit the environment in which we currently work.

However, when a culture suits our needs and preferences to a tee, it makes a working environment the perfect habitat in which to perform our best work.

¹ Some animals also exhibit behaviours that can only accurately be described as “culture.” See, for example, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/understanding-orca-culture-12494696

² Not being given this opportunity is, of course, one of the biggest warning signs in and of itself

References and further reading

• https://possibleworks.com/blog/how-organizational-culture-impacts-employee-engagement-and-performance/

• https://hbr.org/2021/10/forget-flexibility-your-employees-want-autonomy