Annotated Bibliography – Workplace Culture
Joshua Anderson
February 6, 2022
MGMT501: Executive Leadership and Management
Dr. Bill White
Coutts, D. S. (2021). Valuing change: Differential Measurement of Workplace Culture Shift.
Journal of Organizational Change Management, 34(5), 990–1002.
https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-08-2020-0254
The need to implement change in the office in order to make the office a more welcoming
environment is essential. The article written by Daniel Coutts shows that without a full
team effort to change the environment and culture in the office, there is a significant
chance that it is going to fail. This article shows what could be required to make that
change possible and the steps needed to make it successful. This article strikes a chord with
office personnel that will be looking to change their offices.
Daws, K., McBrearty, K., & Bell, D. (2020). “if somebody just showed me once how to do it”:
How are workplace cultures and practice development conceptualised and operationalised
for Early Career Nurses? Nurse Education Today, 85, 104267.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2019.104267
While this article written by McBrearty and Bell is narrowly focused on the workplace of
nurses, the concepts that are shared in the journal article can be used as a guide for
employees that are early in their career and believe that their offices can be changed. While
hospitals and doctor’s offices have significantly different workplace cultures than many
business offices due to the stress of the profession, there are a number of base cultural
references that can match up with many other offices. This article will allow for a
comparison of those offices.
Dixon, L. (2020). Our brains at work: The neuroscience of office culture. Rochester Business
Journal, 36(25), 20–22. https://doi.org/http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F
%2Fwww.proquest.com%2Ftrade-journals%2Four-brains-at-work-ncuroscience-office-
culture%2Fdocview%2F2462455401%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085
Overcoming what is ingrained into the typical office worker takes more than just a simple
pledge to do so. Lauren Dixon’s article takes what is typically discussed at a human
resources level and instead breaks it down more at a psychological level. Understanding
what is going on in the brains of the office worker and trying to change it there instead of
at a policy level shows that changes can be done within everyone. Using this information
can greatly assist everyone in the office in their change process. Knowing why they are the
way that they are will help everyone.
Erichsen, K., & Reynolds, J. (2020). Public School Accountability, workplace culture, and
teacher morale. Social Science Research, 85, 102347.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2019.102347
This is another article that is narrowly focused on one area of interest – teachers. While it is
narrowly focused, the idea that teaching and workplace culture is limited is not true.
Teachers are building the foundation with their students on how they should treat each
other. Using those thoughts will influence how workplace culture in the future might be
handled. The only issue that one might have with this article is the fact that it was written
pre-Covid and things are markedly different since the pandemic arose.
Hope, J. (2020). Change office culture through positive interactions. The Successful Registrar,
20(1), 1–5. https://doi.org/10.1002/tsr.30688
Positive reinforcement on what is expected while in the office is the most effective way to
change the culture of an office. This is another article that is seen through an educator’s
eyes. Dr. Hope describes how in her office that they are using every interaction to try and
make a positive change. Doing that will work toward making workplace culture something
that can become more akin to a positive friendship. The narrow focus on the education
aspect of this article will again point towards just a portion of workplace cultural
interactions.
Loh, J. M., Thorsteinsson, E. B., & Loi, N. M. (2019). Workplace incivility and work outcomes:
Cross‐cultural comparison between Australian and Singaporean employees. Asia Pacific
Journal of Human Resources, 59(2), 305–329. https://doi.org/10.1111/1744-7941.12233
Workplace culture is influenced by more than just what is occurring in the office. The
authors of this paper show that outside cultural influences are large contributors to the
workplace culture. Depending on your locale and the national culture can make the office
entirely different than the same type of office in another country or region of the planet.
These external influences can factor into employee stress and burnout. This study has a
much wider focus across a number of different industries.
Morris, M., & Eppich, W. J. (2021). Changing workplace‐based education norms through
‘collaborative intentionality.’ Medical Education. https://doi.org/10.1111/medu.14564
One of the most important ways to change the culture in a workplace is to do it
intentionally. In the past, workplace culture was defined by profession. The most obvious
example provided by the authors of this study was the fact that doctors were trained by
doctors and nurses by nurses. Doing this brought a distinct divide between medical staff
that were expected to work with each other. By intentionally having these professionals
cross-train, it is allowing for a new culture to form where each knows what is expected
from the other on the hospital floor.
Pixelmax. (2021). Virtual Workplaces Will Dramatically Redefine the Office & Work Culture of
the Future. Database and Network Journal.
https://doi.org/http://bi.gale.com.ezproxy.liberty.edu/global/article/GALE
%7CA688554093?u=vic_liberty
More than any other paper evaluated, the authors are focused on the workplace culture of
the future, particularly after the Covid-19 pandemic. Creating a workplace culture around a
virtual office that could span any number of time zones, countries, and cultures will be
much more difficult than forming one where all the employees are required to come into
the office. Interacting with fellow employees no longer requires face to face interaction.
Instead, interactions will come in the form of Instant Messaging or video calls.
Management will need to change the way that they create the desired culture in the near
and long-term to get the organization the way they envision.
Polić, M., & Holy, M. (2021). Gender-biased office culture in Croatian PR industry: Why
feminine sectors practice masculine patterns? Corporate Communications: An
International Journal, 26(4), 716–727. https://doi.org/10.1108/ccij-04-2021-0042
This article focuses on the gender-based culture in the PR industry in Croatia. On the
surface, it is a very narrowly focused article. One could see, though, that this could fit into
a number of different industries in many countries. While females dominate the PR
industry in Croatia, they still are influenced by the masculine element in their country. The
appearance that they are strong and display themselves as such shows just that. An effort to
soften their role seems to not allow them to move forward in their chosen field.
Smollan, R. K., & Morrison, R. L. (2019). Office design and organizational change. Journal of
Organizational Change Management, 32(4), 426–440. https://doi.org/10.1108/jocm-03-
2018-0076
This article has a different focus than most of the other ones that have been discussed. The
focus of this article is on the office itself rather than on the people. By creating an office
that is more open, a culture can be created that itself can be more open. Ideas and
collaboration is seen as being easier to achieve because there is space to allow it to occur.
Instead of employees being restricted to offices, they are open to allow for conversation
and collaboration amongst the entire organization.
Villagrana, K. (2021). How to instill wellness in your office culture. New Orleans CityBusiness.
https://doi.org/http://ezproxy.liberty.edu/login?qurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.proquest.com
%2Ftrade-journals%2Fhow-instill-wellness-your-office-culture%2Fdocview
%2F2586256269%2Fse-2%3Faccountid%3D12085
The dramatic shift that has occurred in the office due to the Covid-19 pandemic will shift
the workplace culture for years to come. In this article, the author uses generalities to show
that the entire office is essential to the mental health of each employee. Because of that, the
importance of the culture of the workplace should be on the mind of every manager.
Keeping the employees functioning at a high level is important to any organization.
I. Introduction
a. Creating a workplace that is inclusive for all employees creates a level of trust. When
creating that level of trust, all aspects of the office make the work a smoother operation.
(Dixon, 2020)
II. Workplace culture in many fields is slow to change for a variety of reasons.
a. For the longest time, there was a belief that to properly train employees, there had to be
a stark division. Now, it is important to cross-train in order to get the full learning
experience. Doing this allows for a shift in the culture of an office.
i. Doctors training with nurses and nurses doing the same with doctors can change
the way that healthcare is provided and make the hospital a better place to work
and operate. (Morris & Eppich, 2021)
b. Workplace culture can be affected by the overall culture of a country or region.
i. External influences of culture can affect the internal efforts to change a
workplace culture. Because of social norms, religions, and laws, changing a
workplace culture can be difficult to impossible. (Loh et al., 2019)
c. Even in fields where one gender is the dominant force, changing the culture to reflect
that can be a difficult thing to accomplish.
i. PR firms throughout Croatia are dominated by a female presence. Still, these
firms are run by the male way of thinking. This may be because the rest of
society is male dominated and PR firms are just trying to keep up. (Polić & Holy,
2021)
III. Changing workplace culture starts at the most basic levels. Whether it be teaching a new way of
thinking by educators or changing the layout of the office to allow for more open thinking, it is
up to everyone to make that effort occur.
a. Teachers are responsible for the initial change of culture in society. By making the effort
to change their students before they can even get into the workforce to learn a culture,
they can instill a way of thinking that is more acceptable. (Erichsen & Reynolds, 2020)
b. Having a base level understanding of the way culture is handled in the office as well as in
life allows for people to function in the office. Knowing what is expected of them before
they even arrive allows for the teaching of the workplace culture to go smoothly for
everyone. (Daws et al., 2020)
c. Attempting to make every interaction a positive one can go a long way to establishing a
positive workplace culture. People typically respond well to positive reinforcement. In
keeping that ongoing, a workplace culture that employees want to be part of can be
established and maintained. (Hope, 2020)
d. Designing an office that is more culture friendly is a newer way to establish a culture.
With wide-open spaces that allows for collaboration and discussion, employees are no
longer confined to spaces. The sharing of ideas for work can bleed over to the cultural
aspect of work. (Smollan & Morrison, 2019)
IV. Workplace culture in a post Covid-19 world is changing. Due to the overreaching effects of
Covid-19 on the world, the way that the workplace is seen and designed will have to be re-
created to fit in this “new normal” world.
a. A growing acceptance of remote working will forever change the office culture. Instead
of having every employee in the office, many employees will only be seen in-person a
few times a year and only when it is vital. (Pixelmax, 2021)
b. The mental well-being of the office employee now stands at the forefront of thought of
many senior level management teams. Ensuring that employees are taken care of both
physically as well as mentally is a shift that has occurred over the past few years, but
especially now as Covid-19 has taken hold of everything. (Villagrana, 2021)
V. Workplace culture is something that is constantly evolving. Because of different factors, it will
continue to do so. It is possible that because of the vast changes over the past two years that
things have regressed. Or it is entirely possible that as workers return to the office a new set of
expectations for the workplace will have evolved. No longer can the employer expect a status
quo to be in place as employees feel the freedom to seek out other positions that better suit
what they feel the workplace culture should be since they experienced a new-found freedom
and established their own ideals over the past two years.
a. The selected portions of the articles that were chosen for this paper show that
workplace culture is changing at an ever-increasing pace. Culture changes come from
every portion of the office. Whether it is due to differing education levels, gender roles,
or because of a worldwide pandemic, culture is quick to evolve to better fit society
today.
b. When completing this research, it is important to note that this has all been completed
within the past few years. Additionally, with the ongoing pandemic, research continues
and is done taking those factors into mind.
c. Things that might have advanced in workplace culture have come to a halt due to the
introduction of widespread remote work. Training that might have occurred across
different platforms had to be adjusted or even canceled. Being away from co-workers
can lead to regressions in thinking and understanding of how workplace culture might
have advanced in the previous years.
d. Further research will need to be done concerning the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic
and how it has changed the workplace culture after the mass return of employees to
their offices and away from the remote work environment.
Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)
