20 Important Pieces Of Workplace Culture To Maintain And Bolster

Forbes

a day ago

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In times of change or budget pressure, it can be tempting for leaders to scale back or even eliminate certain cultural practices. But not all aspects of workplace culture are expendable—some are essential for keeping employees engaged and morale high to support long-term organizational resilience.
From recognition and flexibility to trust and opportunity, certain cultural cornerstones shape how teams connect, grow and succeed together. Below, 20 members of Forbes Coaches Council explore workplace practices leaders should think twice about before changing or cutting, and why preserving them can make all the difference in their companies' overall performance.
Psychological safety fosters open communication, innovation and error-reporting without fear of punishment. Undermining it can silence voices, suppress creativity and heighten risk exposure, especially in cybersecurity and compliance-sensitive environments where early detection and reporting are critical to resilience and trust. - Damodar Selvam , Equifax Inc.
Trust is the foundation of great workplace culture; leaders should think twice before altering anything that erodes it. Trust fuels innovation, candor and healthy conflict. Without it, people go quiet, engagement drops and growth stalls. Remember: Culture isn't what you say, it's what you tolerate. Protect trust relentlessly—it's hard to build and easy to break. - Alex Draper , DX Learning Solutions
Eliminating DEIB initiatives risks further ignoring the needs of already marginalized employees. Currently, work doesn't work for everyone. Leaders should be expanding DEIB to support neurodivergent employees, seeking to create cultures where hidden talent not only survives but thrives. If you are losing talent and writing it off as those employees just not fitting in, this might be your problem. - Dr. Nicole Scott, SPHR, CPC, PCC , Evo Exec 4. Unstructured Time With Colleagues
One thing I'd be cautious about changing is unstructured time with colleagues. Informal catch-ups and quick chats before meetings might seem dispensable, but they're often where trust is built and ideas surface. When you remove those moments, culture risks becoming transactional. Preserve them, and you protect what keeps the workplace human. - Mo Khan , MentorMeet.com
Forbes Coaches Council is an invitation-only community for leading business and career coaches. Do I qualify? 5. L&D Investments
As we all experience massive changes in the workplace and the workforce, there are ostensibly many reasons for making changes to the internal company culture, including expense cutting, realignment, AI integration and so on. However, a company may well lose its soul if it eliminates too many of its employees. A key area to focus on is learning and development. When a company makes that investment, it shows that it really cares about its people. - Ash Varma , Varma & Associates 6. Opportunities For Connection
One important aspect of workplace culture are the rituals and traditions that promote employee connection and belonging, such as team celebrations, onboarding lunches or end-of-week wrap-ups. Leaders might see these as expendable to reduce costs. However, removing them can undermine employee engagement, especially in hybrid or rapidly changing environments with fragile personal connections. - Curtis Odom , Prescient Strategists 7. Curiosity
Never kill curiosity. It drives innovation, fuels risk-taking and powers moonshot thinking. Remove it, and you lose momentum. In a world moving at exponential speed, curiosity is not a luxury; it is the fuel that keeps teams adaptive, bold and relentlessly forward-focused. - Adam Levine , InnerXLab 8. Open Communication Across All Levels
One crucial element of workplace culture that leaders should reconsider before changing is open communication, especially through skip-step meetings. These meetings foster direct connections between employees and higher management, enhancing trust and transparency. Eliminating them can lead to misunderstandings and decreased morale. - Jay Garcia , Jay Garcia Group 9. Visible Brand Values
Leaders should never underestimate the power of highly visible brand values. While that big poster on the wall about 'integrity' may occasionally get mocked, it's a daily reminder of what the company stands for and the behaviors it expects. When values are clear, they align the culture from the inside out. This builds consistency and trust for both employees and customers. - Gabriella Goddard , Brainsparker Ltd 10. Cross-Functional Gatherings And Workshops
Don't eliminate events such as monthly team dinners or creative workshops where employees freely brainstorm ideas. These gatherings build camaraderie, spark innovation and foster psychological safety. In a hybrid world, maintaining spaces for informal connection and cross-functional ideation is essential for a thriving, collaborative culture. - Dr. Adil Dalal , Pinnacle Process Solutions, Intl., LLC 11. Development Of Internal Talent
Do not stop investing in people to reduce costs. Have the right people in the right roles and develop them for current and future positions. Invest in and leverage your talent to drive business results and promote retention. - Karen Tracy , Dr. Karen A Tracy, LLC 12. Leadership Awareness Of Team Dynamics
The heart of any workplace culture is how well leaders listen—not just to what people say, but to what they don't say. Culture is really about people, their unspoken feelings and everyday vibes. When leaders stay connected to that, trust and teamwork thrive. Change that, and you risk losing what really makes the workplace feel like a community. - Shikha Bajaj , Own Your Color 13. Spaces That Foster Emotional Intelligence
In the era of AI, leaders should think twice before removing spaces that foster emotional intelligence, like group coaching conversations, reflection sessions or peer learning circles. AI can optimize tasks, but it can't replace human empathy or purpose. Preserve what cultivates trust, resilience and meaning. In a tech-driven world, your culture's humanity becomes its greatest competitive edge. - Alejandro Bravo , Revelatio360 14. Consistent Core Cultural Artifacts
The best cultural artifacts are unique to an organization and are crafted over time through the actions and examples set by its leaders. However, they all change and adapt as each successive generation leaves its imprint. Keeping the core of these artifacts consistent is crucial, as this core is as individual as the leaders who crafted it and the organization it supports. - Ed Brzychcy , Lead from the Front 15. Food Service Programs
Company leaders should think twice before changing or eliminating their food service programs. Food is a community- and culture-building medium. For centuries, humans have gathered to share meals and conversation. This form of hospitality is an integral part of building and sustaining workplace culture. Changes to food programs are highly disruptive and not worth the potential cost savings. - Brittney Van Matre , Rewild Work Strategies 16. Regular Recognition Moments
Leaders should think twice before axing regular recognition moments like shout-outs, kudos boards or award moments. These gestures aren't fluff; they reinforce values, boost morale and signal appreciation. Abandoning recognition can erode motivation, diminish engagement and make employees feel invisible, weakening the cultural fabric and undermining long-term resilience. - Kerri Sutey , Sutey Coaching & Consulting LLC 17. Team Bonding Activities
When people are well-connected, they collaborate more effectively. The impact of team bonding may not always be immediately visible, but it acts as an invisible glue that reduces friction, builds trust and enhances overall workflow. - Sandra Balogun , The CPA Leader 18. Support For Work-Life Balance
One piece of workplace culture that is critical to keep in place (or introduce, if necessary) is support and transparency around work-life balance. For example, employees seek flexible work arrangements (this is much broader than working from home occasionally) and well-being initiatives. These demonstrate that the company truly values the whole person, not simply the productive employee. - Peter Accettura , Accettura Consulting LLC 19. Flexible, Agile Work Environments
Eliminating an agile work environment will be detrimental to any company's culture. The landscape of the workplace isn't just rapidly changing; it has already changed. Surviving Covid means we have proven our resilience. Working from home or locations other than the 'office' should always be a choice given to employees, especially in times of need. Offering flexibility makes them feel valued and appreciated. - Kurline J Altes, CWDP , KURLINEJSPEAKS LLC 20. Values-Based Rituals
In the push for efficiency, it's easy to dismiss cultural practices, like storytelling at all-hands meetings, value-based recognition rituals or team reflections. Values are the soul of culture, and rituals are how those values are lived and reinforced. - Neerja Bhatia , Rhythm of Success