Amazon's no outlier: the science behind broken work cultures
Research shows that the better our reasons for working, the better we work. And it isn’t just Amazon that should take note.
In a matter of days, The New York Times‘s 2015 exposé of Amazon’s “bruising” workplace delivered a blow to the company’s reputation. Many have joined the chorus—at least one person cancelled their Prime subscription, while others, including current and past employees, have echoed CEO Jeff Bezos in defending the organization.
Few organizations have figured out how to innovate, adapt, and create amazing things without burning their people out.
Along with with Netflix’s recent announcement of a full year of parental leave, the Amazon profile has breathed new life into the ongoing debate about workplace culture and what makes a great one.
The reality is that few organizations have figured out how to innovate, adapt, and create amazing things without burning their people out. Many of Amazon’s tech peers now suffer some of the same cultural handicaps as their Wall Street counterparts.
The quandary of how to create a healthy, high-performing culture affects many more companies than just Amazon. After decades without a deep understanding of how culture drives performance, most have arrived at a mix of good, bad, and ugly practices all jumbled together.
Read our full article in Fast Company to learn the 6 factors that define a motivating work culture.
Originally published at: fastcompany.com
Lindsay McGregor and Neel Doshi are co-authors of Primed to Perform (due out October 6th from HarperCollins), which explores the counterintuitive science behind high-performing cultures. They are also cofounders of Vega Factor, a company building technology to help organizations of all sizes and across sectors create high-performing cultures.