Here’s how a culture of indifference is ruining your workspace

In today’s world, the enigma of ‘fending for oneself’ has circulated through all reaches of an individual’s personal and professional life. Speaking of the latter, we are encouraged to do whatever it takes to further our careers, to engulf in a tide of experiences, and most importantly, to make sure we come out with a golden resume.

Although the trick is to always look out for yourself in the long run, has anyone ever thought about how this very ideology can end up obstructing overall productivity for your company? If all an individual employee thinks about is his or her independent gains, then how are they contributing to the overall task-force that any office needs to succeed in the future?

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Thus, there exists an air of casual indifference in the workspace, where an employee or a leader ends up choosing themselves over the company. Looking at the bigger picture, it is this indifference that can draw out a company’s curtain call.

Here are five ways by which such indifference in the company can lead to its eventual downfall.If you can recognise these signs in your office, then you should make sure that they are stopped before the last spark of enthusiasm fades out from the very atmosphere you work in.

Leader to Employee

Leaders are expected to serve as guide and mentor to their employees, even if it isn’t a stated part of their contract. They should be leading by example, from the front, and be available at all times to answer questions and clear doubts from their end. He or she should also be taking an avid interest in their employee’s personal and professional development. This includes encouraging them while also pointing out their flaws. It also involves praising them for their efforts, while also giving them feedback to improve. Now if a leader is indifferent to the growth of their employees and the company in general,it will definitely harm the company in the long run.

Employee to Leader

Employees are expected to carry out their responsibilities to their maximum potential. At the same time, they need to be actively engaged in everyday work processes so that their hard work gets recognised by the very people they are trying to impress – their leaders or mentors. However, it is on them to cultivate a positive relationship with the latter, because it is they who will benefit from the equation and manage to climb up the steps of the hierarchical ladder. It is this relentless spirit of an employee that put collectively with others, catapults the company’s productivity levels by a wide margin. This in turnleads to its long-term gain. However, if the employees themselves are indifferent towards their leaders or mentors, and do not strive to put in the minimum amount of work required of them, the productivity levels of the workspace will reduce significantly.

Employee to Employee

This is possibly one of the most important relationships in the work-space, considering the company’s overall outcome rests on its shoulders. As has been stated infinite times by the world’s greatest professionals,a happy workspace is a constructive one. To cultivate this happy workspace, it is important that all of its employees get along with one another and work together in harmony. Friction between employees and a fractious outlook that they harbour towards one another could eventually harm the company itself in the long-run. If an employee is indifferent towards his or her colleague and only breezes in and out of the office-space depending on their liking, then there is no collective growth for the company in anyone’s sight.

Employee to Customer

Although the idea of catering to the customer’s every need and placing them on a pedestal is the wrong way to go about it, a company is still reliant on their good graces and recommendations to make a mark in the markets. However, it is the employees’ responsibility to cultivate a mutually beneficial and positive relationship with the customers, so that they can aim for the same. But if the employees of a given company do not care to interact with their customers, the company stands to lose out on sales, revenue, and reputation.

Hence, fluctuating relationships based on an indifference towards employees, leaders and their companies can eventually cause great harm to the overall workspace atmosphere and productivity. To this end, it is necessary to encourage and promote a sense of enthusiasm, involvement, and participation among all three groups, enabling the company to gain in value, in every way possible.