Workplace Culture Quotes

“How power is used in organizations determines whether it unites us with trust or divides us with fear”
― Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, Seeking Fairness at Work: Cracking the New Code of Greater Employee Engagement, Retention & Satisfaction

“Fairness is a leadership superpower. ”
― Hanna Hasl-Kelchner, Seeking Fairness at Work: Cracking the New Code of Greater Employee Engagement, Retention & Satisfaction

“The ideal is to have a workplace where people enjoy coming into work. That's good for everyone.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

“Bullying and harassment in the workplace are unacceptable.”
― Hendrith Vanlon Smith Jr, CEO of Mayflower-Plymouth

“My boss, Tricia, always said tat we were a family. I should have realised she meant that I would have to put up with constant bullshit.”
― Nino Cipri, Finna

“I can always tell about the health of a culture of an organization by how much gossiping is happening”
― Brené Brown, The Power of Vulnerability: Teachings of Authenticity, Connections and Courage

“Over 400 million employees globally make life-and-death decisions every day at work. It's critical to embrace Holistic Wealth at work and embrace workplaces that enable employees to thrive and succeed.”
― Keisha Blair

“Talking about diversity and inclusion in the workplace is one of the most important conversations you will ever have with your employees.”
― Germany Kent

“The day a CEO breaks bread with the janitor, that is the day a company truly becomes human.”
― Abhijit Naskar

“Helping your employees in the stress management programs either at work or at home is very important, remember, they put everything in place for you”
― Anath Lee Wales, your life can be changed.: the true guide to become a change maker!

“This is not a human, but a coworker.”
― Olga Ravn, The Employees

“The thing I remember about my company management course was how to get the workplace productivity up. I have no recollection of being taught how to keep the workers happy.”
― Steven Magee

“Christmas was approaching and I asked my Ivy League employer if I could use the company funds to buy the team something for Christmas to boost their moral. They refused my request.”
― Steven Magee

“I have lost track of the number of times when I chatted with DEI professionals or even diversity hires of different races and backgrounds who painfully told me that they are put in a position that makes them incapable of making any meaningful changes in their workplace. That their job is primarily to be tokenized and make the institution look and feel good, but in reality they – and any diverse person in their workplace – feel totally paralyzed in environments that look good, but are in fact extremely controlled by the few privileged at the top.

[From “The Trump Age: Critical Questions” published on CounterPunch on June 23, 2023]”
― Louis Yako

“Every job I had in the UK was hourly with overtime pay. All jobs I had in the USA were salaried with no overtime pay and an expectation to work really long unpaid hours at some of them!”
― Steven Magee

“Those who have never worked in libraries view library work with the empty awe of admiration (Seale & Mirza, 2019), as a place where librarians fulfill a noble calling (Ettarh, 2018). Library employees, however, at times, experience their workplaces as marginalizing, demanding, disempowering, discouraging, frustrating, and draining, yet still are drawn into a chance to make a difference and follow their passions. Within this context, librarians may commit sabotage for several reasons.
Chapter 7”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Middle managers sit at a curious intersection of power; they are a significant factor in employee morale (Glusker et al., 2022; Kennedy & Garewal, 2020), yet relatively powerless to effect meaningful organ- izational change beyond their unit. Middle managers are subject to undermining from every level in academic libraries, whether from peer managers establishing their turf, from unhappy or ambitious direct reports, or from senior leaders that use shakeups or austerity measures as a way to establish power and demonstrate innov- ation and impact to campus leaders.
Chapter 7”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Does the problem of incivility in academic libraries lie with individuals? Do libraries really hire that many “bad apples?” Not likely.Thus, a sensible approach to understanding workplace incivility is to consider group behavior within organizations rather than individual behaviors.
Chapter 13”
― Spencer Acadia, Libraries as Dysfunctional Organizations and Workplaces

“Jellyfish Managers, much like their aquatic namesakes, have a nervous system but neither spine nor brain; with the same orifice functioning as both mouth and anus; randomly stinging whoever is in their path, and unaware that their actions might one day get them squished.”
― David A. Dolinsky, The Workplace Zombie: One Bureaucrat’s Path to Better Understanding the Virus and Its Vectors

“DOLINSKY’S IMPERATIVE: “Individuals must take it upon themselves to form and grow bubbles of civility within and external to their organizations. Doing so creates new and deeper relationships across stakeholders. It prevents bureaucratic claptrap and friction from descending like a toxic cloud of dissatisfaction. Friction is reduced, and the spread of the workplace zombie virus is slowed.”
― David A. Dolinsky, The Workplace Zombie: One Bureaucrat’s Path to Better Understanding the Virus and Its Vectors

“DOLINSKY’S IMPERATIVE: Individuals must take it upon themselves to form and grow bubbles of civility within and external to their organizations. Doing so creates new and deeper relationships across stakeholders. It prevents bureaucratic claptrap and friction from descending like a toxic cloud of dissatisfaction. Friction is reduced, and the spread of the workplace zombie virus is slowed.”
― David A. Dolinsky, The Workplace Zombie: One Bureaucrat’s Path to Better Understanding the Virus and Its Vectors

“Delusionary Defilade: Leaders who surround themselves with sycophants remain ‘protected’ from seeing things as they are, continue to see things as they want them to be, and delusions of adequacy often follow. This is usually evidenced by a ‘leader’ telling a group to ‘not let perfect be the enemy of good’ when no plan, perfect or good, is likely to be presented as a course of action. The idea of ‘how things should be’ regarding the problem itself or the team’s capabilities, rather than understanding how things ‘are,’ will result in an incorrect orientation that prevents even a good plan from emerging.”
― David A. Dolinsky, The Workplace Zombie: One Bureaucrat’s Path to Better Understanding the Virus and Its Vectors

“Another way to foster a sense of belonging for employees is to form teams that are encouraged to engage in collective problem-solving. This affords regular opportunities for all members of the teams to express their views and contribute their talents. But leaders of these teams should establish the norm that colleagues treat each other with respect, making room for everyone in discussions and listening thoughtfully to one another. As we saw with high-status students leading the way in establishing an antibullying norm in schools, managers, as the highest-status member of a team, can set powerful norms. A key goal is foster what leadership scholar Amy Edmonson calls psychological safety, which she describes as "the belief that the environment is safe for interpersonal risk taking. People feel able to speak up when needed--with relevant ideas, questions, or concerns--without being shut down in a gratuitous way. Psychological safety is present when colleagues trust and respect each other and feel able, even obligated, to be candid." No matter how ingenious or talented individual team members are, if the climate does not foster the psychological safety people need to express themselves, they are likely to hold back on valuable input.”
― Geoffrey L Cohen, Belonging: The Science of Creating Connection and Bridging Divides - Library Edition

“How unfair it was that women have to make the choice to be nice or to be powerful.

“Don’t let what other people say, good or bad, pressure you into feeling small. The world does that enough to women. I won’t let it happen to my own sister.”
― Lauren Edmondson, Ladies of the House: A Modern Retelling of Sense and Sensibility

“To those who perpetuate harassment and gossip, they need them to reflect on the harm they cause directly or indirectly.Their words and actions have the power to destroy relationships, erode trust, and suffocate hope.”
― Shaila Touchton

“adaptability and emotional intelligence are cornerstones of a thriving workplace culture”
― Dr Prem Jagyasi

“Training that isn’t applied is training that’s forgotten.
Make learning stick—or don’t bother.”
― Erden Tuzunkan

“A bad hire costs more than an empty seat.
Hire for fit, not just for now.”
― Erden Tuzunkan

“Emotional intelligence without joy is like a compass with no north.”
― Janna cachola

“Your employees could have solved your biggest challenge last week—if you’d known how to tap into their potential.”
― Rick Tucci, Ideas to Action: Unlock your organization's hidden genius to ignite innovation and accelerate results