Neuroplasticity, Work Culture and Employee Engagement

Neuroplasticity, Work Culture and Employee Engagement

S. Chris Edmonds is a sought-after speaker, author, and executive consultant. He’s the founder and CEO of The Purposeful Culture Group, which he launched in 1990. Chris helps senior leaders build and sustain purposeful, positive, productive work cultures. He is the author or co-author of seven books, including Amazon bestsellers Good Comes First (2021) with Mark Babbitt, The Culture Engine (2014), and Leading at a Higher Level (2008) with Ken Blanchard.

Sights, smells, sounds – everything that you experience leaves its mark on your brain. Neurons are nerve cells that send messages to all other parts of the body, enabling you to do everything from talk to walk, from storing memories to weighing decisions. Knowing this, you may wonder, do work cultures actually impact the neural networks in our brains – for better or worse? Studies on mental health, employee engagement, and the workplace leave us with a resounding yes.

Neuroplasticity is a relatively new field of study; HOPES (Huntington’s Outreach Project for Education) Research was first conducted in 1999 on animals and humans. It was found that the brain continually reorganizes itself by forming new neural connections throughout life. Neuroplasticity is the term for these brain neurons compensating for unusual activity such as injury, new situations, and changes in their environment.

This field of study holds great promise for the treatment of brain injury and disease – including dementia and Huntington’s Disease – and for understanding the power of our work cultures.

Work culture has a powerful influence on:

Employee engagement
Customer service
Retention
Results
Profits

This field of study holds great promise for the treatment of brain injury and disease – including dementia and Huntington’s Disease.

CHRIS EDMONDS

We also know that the quality of most work cultures across the globe is dismal. When asked why employees left their previous employment, 62% cited a toxic company culture, which was measured separately from even a healthy work-home life balance (which 49% gave as a reason they left). When it came to poor management, 56% agreed that this was a major factor in their choice to leave. (https://enterprisealumni.com/research/employee-engagement)

Unhealthy work cultures affect employees’ brains. Neuroplasticity causes their brains to react to the fearful, frustrating work culture they live in. Those brain changes contribute to employees’ reduced commitment to their work, reduced performance, and increased disrespectful treatment of peers and customers.

The opposite impact occurs in a healthy, vibrant work culture. Neuroplasticity causes their brains to react to the purposeful, positive, productive work culture they live in – so they invest their heads, hearts, and hands in the organization’s success and sustainability, every day.

Enterprise Alumni’s research report claims that engaged employees are 17% more productive, costing companies less in turnover as well.

Don’t delay. Start building your uncompromising work culture today. Learn more at GoodComesFirst.com.