At the September 14 Work Well 2.0 Kick-off meeting, Chris Torizzo with Kaiser Permanente challenged attendees to think about the difference between a worksite’s culture and climate.

“Culture is key because it’s the ‘current’ under the climate of organizational effectiveness and development,” said Torizzo. Culture is the shared beliefs and assumptions about the organization’s expectations and values, and these drive behavior in organizations. Climate can be defined as the shared perceptions and attitudes about the organization, and embraces the efforts to measure and improve employee engagement.

It’s important to understand how climate and culture influence work in terms of effectively managing problems, challenges, or goals. Changing climate can lead to some quick victories, like temporarily engaging employees, but improvements will be short-lived unless true culture shifts occur.

“Climate is a place to start, but culture is longer-term and has more impact,” said Torizzo.

In order to change culture, it’s important to assess how the values or your organization are communicated, and how your organization develops teams and leaders. Bring purpose to the worksite by having a clear sense of job goals, deeper relationships, and more impactful personal growth.

Jennifer Tellis, Worksite Wellness Specialist with Tri-County-Health Department also reviewed the Worksite Wellness Grant project, going into its third year. “This project is a no-brainer for employers and employees,” said Tellis. What she mean by that: healthy employees are more productive and happier – both at work and at home.

The Work Well 2.0 program offers assessment tools, resources, counseling, and funding for organizations wanting to improve the health of their employees; improving the health and bottom line of their business. “The only commitment is a bit of time and energy, and the rewards can be huge – and long-lasting!” said Tellis.

If you are interested in learning more about the Work Well 2.0 Health Series, contact Tellis at (720) 357-9183 or Mitzi Schindler, Work Well Chamber liaison at 303-344-1500.