The Impact of Organizational Culture on Employee Wellbeing

Abstract

Organizational culture has the potential to influence employee wellbeing, both positively and negatively. Given the largely critical media reports and academic studies on heavy workloads and other demands in the finance industry, especially in banks, our research aim was to identify the impact of organizational culture on wellbeing. Interviews across sectors, organizations, and roles in finance revealed how constructive elements of an organization’s culture, particularly concern for staff, enabled employees to cope with their work stress. Reflecting on the many changes at work caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, the findings suggest that working from home, as well as hybrid arrangements, undermined some aspects of the culture while enhancing others. We present a model of the impact of organizational culture on wellbeing that could be applied to other industries. Our study signals new research directions for research into organizational culture in rapidly changing environments and its capacity to affect wellbeing.