Whilethere's been improvement in the factors crucial in attracting andretaining good employees, there's still substantial work to bedone. Photo: Shutterstock)

The workplace is changing, driven by automation and newtechnology, talent and skill shortages, and changing workplaceexpectations. One area not quite keeping up with the rapid pace ofchange? Workplace culture.

According to the 2020 Global Culture Report from O. C. Tanner, despitea "significant" level of investment in workplace culture, workersare increasingly frustrated with "conventional workplace practices"and are also increasingly burning out. In addition, they're not fond of"traditional leadership practices and philosophies."

Related: 7 steps to avoid a burnout culture

So what should employers be paying attention to? The everydayexperiences workers have that shape their view of the workplace,instead of the "employee lifecycle" model of workers'experiences.

Fragmented strategies and siloed culture initiatives frustrateemployees, and while some may have better experiences than others,the workforce as a whole is certainly not experiencing a cohesiveand holistic culture. In fact, according to the report, only 66percent of employees feel the employee experience matters at theirorganization.

"Connection is essential to workplace culture," the authorswrite. "It changes mindsets, and bridges the differencescaused by a diverse and digitalized workforce. It helps companiesadapt and thrive in the sea of change and culture disruptors. Itbuilds community when people feel increasingly disconnected. And itcreates a workplace where people come together and work toward acommon purpose."

Younger workers in particular have higher expectations of theworkplace, and companies that don't keep up will end up losing"their best people, their competitive edge, and ultimately, theircustomers," says the report. It adds that while there's beenimprovement in the six factors it sees as crucial in attracting andretaining good employees since last year's study, there's stillsubstantial work to be done.

The six factors are the employee's sense of purpose;opportunity; success; appreciation; well-being; and leadership.Workers who do not feel valued in these ways can end up burningout—with 79 percent of employees experiencing some level of burnoutat work and 59 percent of employees currently saying they'd go to adifferent company if offered a job offering the same benefits, payand similar work.

However, at workplaces with employees buying into theseso-called "talent magnets," revenue growth is better; in addition,there's more innovation, lower turnover and fewer layoffs. As anadded benefit, their employees are more likely to recommend thecompany as a good place to work.

The six factors are interconnected and feed off one another,according to the report, moving employees to a better experience,and companies need to ditch traditional structures like 9-to-5workdays, annual performance reviews and traditional leadershipmanagement practices if they hope to construct that sort of changein their workplace culture. The experiences employees are lookingfor today include more autonomy, more transparent communication,more mentoring and more flexibility in how and where they work.

Read more:

• Job seekers want to know about company culturebefore they apply
• Are your benefits easing employee stress andbuilding company culture?
• How staff training and development helps the bottomline