3 Workplace Culture Challenges - and How Communication Can Solve Them
By Sally Pritchett
CEO
The workforce is burning out, disconnecting and craving more meaning – here’s how communication can help.
There’s a lot of noise about the state of work right now. If your people are coasting, quitting or quietly burning out – it’s not a mystery. It’s a message. The way we work is out of sync with what people need. Disconnection, overwhelm and a lack of purpose are showing up everywhere – and communication can either fuel the problem or be part of the solution. We’ve identified the three biggest forces shaping the workplace in 2025 – and how communication can help you face them head-on.
Harmony: How we connect our lives with our work
For many employees, work has become overwhelming – bleeding into every corner of their lives. What was sold as flexibility has morphed into an always-on, hyper-connected culture. Are we working from home, or just living at work?
In 2024 we saw headlines about ‘quiet quitting’ claiming that those working from home were lazy and taking advantage of being invisible from their managers. They were skiving off. This year we’ve seen headlines framing the challenge as ‘the great detachment’. This isn’t about being people lazy, of course any journalist or manager can find the one who has tuned out and is working the system, disengagement is still rife. No, this is about a bigger challenge. That of boundaries.
In 2024, headlines about ‘quiet quitting’ painted remote workers as lazy, taking advantage of being out of sight from their managers. Workers were said to skiving off and doing the bare minimum. This year, the narrative has shifted to ‘the great detachment’. But really this isn’t about people being lazy. What we’re really seeing is a bigger challenge: a struggle with boundaries.
Organisations that deserve it – the ones that show appreciation, invest in culture and prioritise wellbeing – have always seen discretionary effort from their people. And they still do. It just looks different now. Managers used to be able to see the early starters and the last ones to leave the office in the evening. In a hybrid world, discretionary effort hasn’t disappeared, it’s just showing up in new ways. Employees are staying connected, replying to messages and taking calls well outside working hours, often blurring the line between commitment and burnout.
But here’s the thing, our employees need their rest and downtime as well. Right now, 80% of employees globally feel at risk of burnout stating the main contributors as financial strain (43%), exhaustion (40%), and excessive workload (30%). The workplace is being described as ‘draining and impersonal’. 37% of people say work stress has taken such a toll on their mental health that it’s contributed to substance use or even thoughts of suicide.
Given an organisation is only as healthy, innovative, productive and ultimately successful as its people, this is an urgent problem. Employees are no longer seeking work and life balance; they’re looking for a harmony between the two. They’re offering up discretionary effort and flexibility with their employers, on the condition of having healthy boundaries.
What’s the role of communication in workplace harmony?
Information and communication overload is a real threat. While tech tools like instant messaging are great, they should come with a massive health warning. We’re busy creating not only an always on, hyper connected, hivemind culture, but also one where we appear to be competing with super computers in our thirst for knowledge. Communicating everything, all the time, to everyone. We can see the funny side of influencers who can’t eat their food before photographing it, or families who plan days out around the perfect Instagram photo. But the workplace has become just as noisy. Relentless meeting schedules, fragmented communication channels, and expectations for instant replies constantly distract employees – making it harder to focus, concentrate, and do deep work.
Like a car in the wrong gear, the machine is burning out while also not going as fast as it could.
This is a huge opportunity for communicators to step up and lead the way. From managing channels – and even closing some down – to setting clear communication protocols and etiquette everyone can follow. From protecting time for deep work to upskilling teams in more effective communication and smarter use of tech. The goal? To reduce the noise, not add to it.
Reducing communication overload and cutting through the noise isn’t just good practice – it’s a chance for communication leaders to be seen as true enablers of productivity, helping get the organisation back in gear.
Loneliness: How we connect with those around us
Despite this always on, hyper connected world we’re in, loneliness is at an all-time high. Globally, 20% of employees report feeling lonely during much of their workday, with younger employees feeling this the most. You’d be forgiven for thinking this is connected to the increase in working from home, however this doesn’t appear to be the case. In fact, mandatory back to the office protocols have magnified this sense of loneliness for many by demonstrating the culture gap. Employees say they feel less lonely at home with a pet companion than they do in an office where they don’t feel they belong.
Like ‘quiet quitting’, the rise in loneliness has deeper societal roots. A fragmented work culture, overwhelming workloads that leave little time for human connection, an ever-increasing pace of work, digitised interactions and frustration with slow progress on inclusion all contribute to employees feeling more disconnected from their organisation – and each other.
Employees need to feel seen, heard and connected in a meaningful way. Despite some suggesting the contrary, the business case for inclusion and belonging has never been stronger. The gap between senior leaders and the frontline continues to plague cultural tensions and has widened post-pandemic, and so organisations need to be taking proactive steps to reduce this disconnect.
What’s the role of communication in workplace loneliness?
Communication has always had the power to shape positive, connected workplace cultures. But today, with rising levels of loneliness, that role is more urgent – and more critical – than ever. The call for communicators to step in is loud and clear.
There are three key priorities communication leaders should be actively focusing on:
1. Shift from monologue to dialogue
Move away from top-down messaging and create more two-way communication across the workforce – through employee voice platforms, ERGs, surveys, listening forums, and more.
2. Create meaningful moments for connection
Build real opportunities for people to come together – from cultural anchor office days to company conferences and team events.
3. Drive inclusion and belonging
Keep working to build a culture of equity, respect, and appreciation where everyone feels they truly belong.
Communications leaders have a powerful opportunity to bring their organisations back together in a meaningful way. By helping teams reconnect, they can ease the tensions surrounding hybrid working and return-to-office mandates, many of which have been driven by a focus on visibility, rather than productivity or culture.
Purpose: How we connect with the world around us
Work must be more than a means to pay the bills. If employees are going to devote so much of their lives to their work, they want to feel connected to something meaningful. Aligned values and making a difference is no longer a nice to have for employees, it’s a growing necessity. 48% of employees say that connection to their work impacts their decision to stay or leave a job. It’s clear that purpose is not simply a nice idea but a commercial imperative for businesses and employees, who are expecting the opportunity to make a positive impact through their work.
Purpose-led organisations focus on the ‘why’ of their existence – like Tony’s Chocolonely who aim to end exploitation in cocoa. It’s a simple statement that encompasses why they make and sell chocolate delivered through a fairer supply chain as well as enabling other organisations to use their equitable and slave-free cocoa supply chain. Tony’s might be a trailblazer in purpose and many organisations have evolved out of necessity or a gap in the market – like Toys ‘R’ Us, whose founder capitalised on the post war baby-boom by selling baby furniture and soon after, toys. Despite this commercial driver for starting out in business, Toys ‘R’ Us had a fundamental brand belief that ‘children should be allowed to be children’ a clear opportunity to connect their employees to a job beyond stacking shelves and selling toys, their role was really to make their stores feel magical.
What’s the role of communication in purpose?
Clear communication of an organisation’s vision, mission, beliefs and values is nothing new. There isn’t an Internal Comms leader who hasn’t tackled the classic ‘values refresh’ project. But today, it’s not just about articulating commercial goals, we need to help employees connect with the bigger picture. That means showing the real-world impact the organisation is striving to make on society and the planet.
What difference is the business trying to create in the world? How is that purpose tied to the organisation’s everyday role in its industry? What isn’t working in that industry – and how is the company stepping up to lead change? And how does its CSR or charitable work play into that wider ambition? These connections are what bring values to life – turning them from posters on a wall into a shared sense of meaning and motivation.
Most organisations deliver CSR activities, donate to charities and offer paid for volunteering days but the benefits in employee morale and retention only come when we connect the workforce with this work and inspire them to get involved. Communications leaders have a great opportunity here to unleash this missed potential for their organisations.
How we can help you build connection, clarity and meaning through communication
At Something Big, we know from experience that communication has the power to solve some of today’s biggest workplace challenges – from blurred boundaries and burnout, to loneliness and disconnection, to lack of meaning and motivation. Here are three ways we can help:
Activator – Storytelling and creative services
You’ve got a message that matters – we help you bring it to life. Whether you’re setting new boundaries, supporting wellbeing or bringing purpose to the forefront, we create campaigns, brands and internal content that inform, inspire and connect.
Pathfinder – Tools and resources
You’re working to create a more connected, human workplace – and we’ve got the tools to support you. From culture diagnostics to comms audits, practical guides and peer learning spaces, we’ll help you take steady, confident steps forward.
Co-creator – Advisory services
You know culture and connection matter – but you’re not always sure where to begin. Our team of strategists bring deep insight and hands-on experience to help you shape clear, practical communication strategies that support balance, belonging and purpose.
The 4 Cs of Culture: Getting to the truth of your workplace culture
By Sally Pritchett
CEO
Discover how to spot the real signs of your workplace culture using our 4 Cs framework.
Culture is one of the most important things for businesses of all shapes, sizes and sectors to invest in and get right. Unfortunately, it’s also one of the hardest things to define, measure or pin down. It’s not a policy, a strategy, a set of perks. You can’t write it in a document or stick posters on the walls that will magically become your culture. Culture is the reality of how people feel, act, speak and show up every day. And worse still, it’s fluid, slippery and changes and evolves quickly.
When it comes to measuring workplace culture, we often find ourselves referring to employee survey data, retention rates, employee reviews, evidence of loyalty or even discretionary effort. None of which is wrong – they’re all good sources of data – but this analysis takes time, relies on employees feeling safe enough to give their honest opinions, and the results are usually reflective of just a snapshot in time.
If you’ve just arrived at a new organisation and are trying to identify where the culture sits right now or you’re on a mission to improve your organisation’s culture, here’s how we approach assessing a culture reality.
At Something Big, we’ve boiled it down to four key things, we call them the 4 Cs of Culture:
1. Communication
Everything starts with language. The tone, terminology and openness of how an organisation communicates all reveal what a company really believes. From Board meeting minutes to social media posts, from Town Hall scripts to internal emails, and even the naming conventions of projects – all of these give clues about how the organisation values its people.
How does the business refer to its people? Are they employees, colleagues, staff… or resource? Is the language even consistent across different departments? Are employees seen and spoken about as genuine contributors, partners, and individuals? How is their work viewed, is it respected for the expertise it takes, or is it seen as unskilled? What conversations happen when people leave the business? What are the key words that keep popping up? How would you describe the tone? When you reflect on communication, how do you feel?
2. Comprehensive
When a business cares about its culture and in turn has a strong one, it runs like a golden thread throughout everything they do. From hiring, onboarding, customer interactions, decision making, leadership behaviour, the approach to policies and even the way the office operates. When culture is rich it leads the way. When trying to assess a culture, looking at things like job adverts, policies, approach to learning and development and where inclusion sits on the agenda all help build up a clear picture of culture.
3. Consistency
Culture isn’t a trend. It can’t be picked up and put down. It lives on regardless of whether it’s on this month’s agenda or not. When assessing culture, it’s really important to look at it over time, the good times and more challenging ones. How did the company treat its people during the pandemic, when times were tough and difficult decisions had to be made? Or when times were good and they could celebrate and reward hard work? Companies that truly get it invest consistently knowing how fragile culture is and what it takes to protect it.
4. Commercial Connection
Culture isn’t just nice-to-have, it’s a commercial fundamental. You don’t have to look far to find commercial benefits to have a strong culture. Whether it’s about attracting and keeping talent, avoiding the cost of constant re-training or absenteeism, or driving better service through motivated employees – culture plays a vital role. It also protects brand reputation and encourages discretionary effort and advocacy.
Organisations that get it know that investing in their culture reaps reliable ROI and have robust approaches to employee communication, learning and development, employer brand and EVP, reward and recognition, employee appreciation and more.
How well can you define the reality of your culture? Are you clear on where you should be focusing to drive your culture in the direction you want it to go. How well can you identify the areas that are undermining your culture?
If you’d like some help assessing your culture as it really is, book a call to chat to one of our culture experts here.
Start here: the THRIVE methodology for stronger workplace cultures
By Sally Pritchett
CEO
Discover our THRIVE methodology - a practical way to build a stronger workplace culture through communication.
When it comes to the workplace, culture is one of those words that gets thrown around as though it’s a fixed thing. Something you can define, measure or simply create on demand. It’s often treated like a destination you reach once you’ve ticked enough boxes or invested in the right initiatives.
But culture is complex, fluid, multi layered and requires continual focus. Creating a positive, trusted workplace culture can take years to build and days to break down. The Dutch have a great phrase for this – ‘trust comes in on foot but leaves on horseback.’
The challenge for People and HR teams, often the ones expected to drive culture, is where to start. As the lowest funded support team in many organisations*, they’re often chronically under-resourced. Their remit is broad – spanning DEIB, wellbeing, employee experience and employer brand development. Not to mention navigating change, hybrid working, the widening gap between frontline and knowledge workers, connecting employees to organisational purpose, driving volunteering and social impact… the list goes on and on.
With so many competing priorities – and the need to keep culture alive every day – where do you even start?
Culture change isn’t a switch. It’s a system.
Culture isn’t something that sits on a to-do list. It isn’t built in workshops. It’s shaped every day by how people feel, how decisions are made and how we communicate with the workforce. It’s systemic, intentional and the golden thread that runs through everything, holding the organisation together.
Creating that golden thread – that strategic narrative – is much harder than it looks.
As experts in elevating employee communication to drive positive cultures and create great places to work, we created our own framework and diagnostic approach. It helps organisations assess where they are today, so we can guide them towards the culture they want to build.
We call it THRIVE because we believe everyone deserves to thrive. And because we know that when our people thrive, so does the business.
THRIVE focuses on six interconnected pillars that shape employees’ everyday experience of work:
- Talent – Attracting, developing and retaining people through authentic, honest and engaging employer brands.
- Human – Creating a human culture that sees employees as people not resources, genuinely appreciating their contribution, caring for their wellbeing and giving them a genuine voice.
- Roadmap – Clearly and consistently communicating the organisations’ strategic narrative, direction and purpose in a way that inspires so everyone knows where they’re going, why it matters and how they can contribute.
- Inclusion – Building a sense of inclusion and belonging that enables everyone to come on the journey, bringing their true and best selves to work. Ensuring every voice is heard, valued and respected.
- Values – Having clearly defined and communicated values that are lived and respected by all and consistently used to drive decision making and guide direction
- Experience – Designing touchpoints and narratives that shape the moments that matter throughout the journey from candidate to alumni.
If you’re on a journey to improving workplace culture, or you’ve just joined an organisation and want a clear picture of where things stand, explore our methodology here and talk to us about our diagnostic approach.