Managers Feel More Connected to Their Organization's Culture

U.S. employees’ attachment to their company culture has been essentially flat for years. Only two in 10 employees strongly agree that they feel connected to their organization’s culture. Leaders are more connected to their company culture -- but still, only 40% report feeling fully connected.

However, despite facing a steady decline from 2021 to the start of 2024, one particularly important group of workers appears to be reconnecting with their company culture -- managers. Managers’ connection to culture is up four percentage points from its lowest point in recent years.

Managers: The Culture Communicators

Since the pandemic, managers have been struggling. A year ago, Gallup reported that managers were more likely than non-managers to be disengaged at work, burned out, looking for a new job, and feeling like their organization does not care about their wellbeing. These new data paint a hopeful picture for managers and highlight an opportunity for leaders to build on positive momentum.

Managers are particularly critical to culture because they are often the translators of culture to their team and interpret how corporate values ought to express themselves in daily work and decision-making. Only 19% of employees strongly agree with the statement, “My manager explains how my organization’s cultural values influence our work,” similar to the percentage of employees who strongly agree they feel connected to their culture.

Additionally, managers communicate what’s happening on the ground back to higher levels in the organization. Managers who are unclear about culture cannot keep leadership in tune with whether the desired culture is being lived.

Culture Flows From Leadership

Leaders understand that culture is critical. Organizational culture is a top three priority for organizations this year, based on a survey of 151 Fortune 500 CHROs. Additionally, 36% of CHROs strongly agree that their executive leaders are focusing on their organization’s culture more this year than in previous years.

Fortunately, Gallup knows what factors have the biggest effect on one's connection to culture and ability to rate one’s company culture as “excellent.”

• When employees strongly agree that they know what their organization stands for and what makes their brand different from competitors, they are 11.3 times as likely to strongly agree that they feel connected to their organization’s culture.
• When employees strongly agree that their leaders are committed to their cultural values, they are 9.8 times as likely to rate the culture of their workplace as “excellent.”

Notably, when Gallup asked employees who rated their culture as excellent to describe that culture, they didn’t point to specific values, cultural archetypes or styles. They said things such as:

• “[Our cultural values are] … clearly communicated, directly aligned to mission and supportive of team dynamics.”
• “Everyone is welcome, everyone is encouraged to be an individual, everyone has the same goal in mind.”
• “Strong core values and consistent ethics of leadership provide employees with security in knowing the expectations placed on their behavior.”

In other words, what matters most when it comes to culture is that the culture is clear, consistent, communicated and authentically lived by leadership. Leaders need to ask themselves:

• Can I define our culture?
• Do I speak consistently about it?
• Do I role model it?
• Do I live up to it?

Managers need clear expectations when it comes to culture, which means leaders need to intentionally weave cultural values into communications, meetings, developmental conversations and recognition.

Culture starts at the top. When leaders are consistent about their culture, living it out in words and actions, employees are more likely to feel connected to that culture and more likely to think that culture is excellent.