A positive work environment can be defined as one that is characterized by trust, cooperation, safety, risk support, accountability, and fairness. In order for work environments to be positive, there should be an ecosystem of shared values and goals adopted by all staff. That’s the reason, for instance when relations in an organization are based on trust, no employee will be afraid to speak up, and when this value is combined with security and fairness, every employee will feel comfortable choosing their own style of work.
In order to provide a positive work environment as well, the concept of cooperation must be strengthened, so that people work together to achieve the same goals, which requires effective communication between all staff. From this point, Dr. Muath Jaafari (an internal communication consultant in several government agencies and ministries) highlighted in this episode the importance of internal communication and the management’s understanding of the appropriate ways to communicate with employees. He also noted that one of the most important problems facing employees and organizations is lack of communication within the work environment, and failure to clarify the organization’s vision and objectives for employees.
Although there are common traits that positive work environments share, Dr. Muath talked in this episode about the non-existence of a so-called positive and negative work environment, but rather a work environment that suits each person. He stressed that the environment that suits one person may not suit another, because the matter depends on each individual's personality, needs, ambitions, and goals. When we talk about the characteristics of a positive work environment, we should address the concept of organizational psychology, and its important role in improvement and development, identifying training and development needs; designing and improving function, work, and quality of working life; formulating and implementing training programs and evaluating their effectiveness; and establishing criteria for evaluating the performance of individuals and organizations. Since the relationship of employees with their managers affects their productivity and integration within the organization, Dr. Muath, addressed the role that leaders and direct managers play in improving the work environment. He stressed the need for employee appreciation, as the more an employee feels appreciated, the more they desire to exert their utmost effort to make their organization the best. Besides, he emphasized the importance of employees’ integration within the organization so that they work without feeling time. Dr. Muath, also, pointed out the importance of differentiating between that and full involvement in work to the point of job burnout.
Because no environment is free of challenges, Dr. Muath discussed the challenges that can face in most work environments, how they deal with these challenges and contribute to improving their work environment through their skills.
The role of internal communication in the organization is to help improve this environment and deal with challenges, and the management's understanding of appropriate ways to communicate with employees, in order to improve the work environment. Dr. Muath discussed the challenges that an employee can face in most work environments, and how they deal with these challenges, and contribute to improving their work environment through their skills. Dr. Muath concluded his talk by mentioning the importance of caring for employees and work environments, pointing out that the employee is the basis of any organization and the main reason for its success and achieving its goals.
