Is This the Year You Build a Respectful Culture?
Your work culture might suck, and the evidence keeps piling up.
A 2023 American Psychological Association study found that roughly one in five U.S. workers describe their workplace as toxic. The same percentage reported being the target of discrimination at work. Those numbers remained stubbornly consistent through 2024 and into 2025, signaling a systemic problem rather than a temporary blip.
Even if your work culture feels“okay,” it’s under pressure. DDI’s Global Leadership Forecast (2025 data) reports that since 2022, trust in managers has decreased from 46% to 29%, indicating a decline in leadership credibility. Global uncertainty, increasing polarization at work, and real generational differences have eroded trust in leaders. When leaders fail to respond directly and decisively, the consequences show up quickly—performance slips, future leaders disengage, and valued employees leave. This is the reality many organizations face today.
That’s why business leaders pay close attention to the quality of their work culture. Leaders who bring clarity, act consistently, and model respect and validation are far more likely to attract and keep talented, engaged workers.
The benefit of workplace cultures where respect is as important as results is undeniable. This 2023 study from Eagle Hill Consulting discovered:
- 73% of U.S. employees say workplace culture influences their productivity
- 65% say culture affects how well they serve customers
- When asked about the most important elements of the ideal organizational culture, workers said it’s respect (74 percent), integrity (57 percent), stability (55 percent), ethical treatment (53 percent), and employee wellbeing (51 percent).
Who’s in charge of changing your work culture? Senior leaders are. They must serve as role models and vocal champions of the desired culture. Leaders can’t delegate this responsibility to HR, OD, or a cross-functional team. Senior leaders must drive their ideal work culture.
How do you know whether leaders and team members are living your valued behaviors? You measure them, of course.
How do leaders change their work culture? Most have never experienced a successful culture transformation. Fewer have ever led one. Without a clear process, culture efforts stall or fade.
Our proven culture process equips senior leaders to define their desired culture, then consistently align and refine people, plans, decisions, and daily actions to support that culture across the organization, every day.
Defining your desired culture starts with formalizing your company’s values in observable, tangible, measurable terms. For example, one client identified integrity as a core value. One of the three behaviors tied to that value is simple: “I do what I say I will do.”
Valued behaviors remove ambiguity. They show how people are expected to live the company’s values in everyday interactions. In this case, integrity means keeping commitments, a foundation of integrity.
How do you know whether leaders and team members are living your valued behaviors? You measure them, of course.
Jump in and learn more about intentional culture refinement and our culture assessments at GoodComesFirst.com.
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