Organisations need to strengthen compassion, employee growth and trust if they want their people – and their performance – to thrive through ongoing change, according to new research.
O.C. Tanner’s 2027 Global Culture Report, based on data from more than 25,000 workers across 23 countries, suggests workplace culture can act as an ‘amplifier’: struggling cultures can intensify uncertainty and burnout, while healthier cultures can strengthen connection, innovation, purpose and performance.
The research comes as organisations continue to navigate economic uncertainty and rapid technological change, including the impact of AI on jobs and career paths.
“Leading Healthy Work: Building Cultures Where People Thrive” is the focus of a workshop that Anwen Cooper from Thrivall will be running at our Make a Difference Leaders AGM & Leadership Forum, taking place at the British Library on 19th October. You can find full details and register your interest in attending here.
Making compassion part of how work is designed
One of the report’s central findings is that compassion needs to go beyond individual acts of kindness and become embedded in organisational systems, policies and ways of working.
O.C. Tanner identifies three pillars of organisational care: a foundation of care, protection of employees’ capacity, and clear guidelines and boundaries. When all three are present, its research finds organisations have 11 times higher odds of growth and innovation.
The impact may be particularly important for frontline workers, who often have less flexibility and autonomy than office-based colleagues. According to the research, frontline employees working in organisations that demonstrate compassion have 88% lower odds of burnout.
Dr Alexander Lovell, Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute, said: “We cannot keep extracting more from employees and expect their capacity to be limitless.
“People want to contribute, grow, and do work that matters to them and to the organisation. When organisations build cultures rooted in compassion, growth, and trust, they amplify what their people are already capable of and create the conditions for greater innovation and performance.”
From learning opportunities to cultures of growth
The report also argues that employers need to move beyond simply providing learning opportunities and instead create cultures where employees feel able to grow.
O.C. Tanner identifies six elements that contribute to a growth culture: empathy, communication, community, support, opportunity and balance. Where all six are present, organisations have 48 times higher odds of what the researchers describe as ‘cultural elasticity’ – the ability to develop skills and remain agile when faced with new challenges.
Frontline employees again appear to benefit significantly. The research associates investment in growth with a 20-fold increase in their sense of opportunity and a 25-fold increase in their sense of success.
Trust needs to be actively built
Trust is another key theme of the report, with researchers arguing that it should not simply be viewed as something that exists – or does not exist – between individual employees and managers.
Instead, O.C. Tanner identifies six components of ‘active trust’: transparency, reliability, accountability, judgement, safety and care.
When these are present, employees are 14 times more likely to say their organisation cares about them. Among frontline workers, the research also links active trust with a stronger sense of belonging and greater confidence that leaders will support them through periods of change.
This could become increasingly important as employees navigate uncertainty around new technology, changing roles and evolving expectations at work.
Recognition can help create space for innovation
The report also highlights the role recognition can play in encouraging employees to experiment and share ideas.
Innovation, it argues, depends on employees having the autonomy to think creatively, the psychological safety to suggest ideas and the organisational support to put them into practice – including when those ideas do not ultimately succeed.
Employees who are not recognised for trying new things have 93% lower odds of thinking creatively, according to the research. By contrast, those who receive recognition throughout the process of thinking, sharing and acting on ideas are 21 times more likely to be innovative.
Mindi Cox, Chief People and Marketing Officer at O.C. Tanner, said the findings suggest organisations do not have to choose between employee wellbeing and performance.
“When employees feel trusted, supported in their growth, and recognised for their contributions, they’re more likely to embrace change, innovate, and bring their best to work every day,” she said.
As organisations consider how to create healthier, higher-performing cultures through periods of significant change, the findings point towards the importance of addressing the everyday conditions in which people work – from capacity and boundaries to trust, development and recognition.
“Leading Healthy Work: Building Cultures Where People Thrive” will be explored further by Anwen Cooper from Thrivall at the Make a Difference Leaders AGM & Leadership Forum at the British Library on 19th October. Find out more about the event and register your interest in attending here.
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