Pay transparency is basis of good culture, study finds

Conducted among 150 employers and 500 employees at medium-to-large UK businesses, research by software company MHR Global examines the gap between employers and employees on what generates loyalty in a workforce and makes an organisation more resilient.

Instead of company cheer, both sides think a good organisational culture comes from fairness and transparency about pay and rewards (selected by 53 percent of employees and 49 percent of employers), or a clear and open style of management (selected by 46 percent of employees and 50 percent of employers).

The research also finds that festive fun in the workplace is under threat this year as only five percent of bosses and eight percent of employees believe laughter is the sign of a healthy organisational culture.

Mental health charity Mind recently reported that mental health had deteriorated during lockdown for 60 percent of adults. MHR said employers that don’t value a fun culture may be putting health and wellbeing of employees at longer-term risk as academic studies have shown laughter has a highly therapeutic effect, reducing stress, boosting immunity and strengthening workplace bonds. A sense of connection between employers, managers and among colleagues is essential to employee wellbeing and business resilience especially with the sheer volume of workers now operating remotely.

The research, conducted for the new MHR Employee Loyalty Index, found that employers are overwhelmingly keen to use technology such as task collaboration or digital HR platforms to improve employee loyalty. Almost 90 percent employers believe investing in technology will have a positive effect on employee loyalty, with nearly a third (31 percent) believing it will be an important contributor to their employee culture.