Your Organizational Values are Important
May 27, 2024
I can say that throughout my career, the number of times I’ve experienced an organization making decisions based on its values is far fewer than the number of times I’ve seen organizations make decisions without concern for their values. From my own experience, organizational values have been key contributors to learning about and navigating organizational cultures. One of the organizations I worked with was incredible at living their values and when we would talk about solutions to problems or incorporating new processes, the values were almost always part of the conversation. In contrast, another organization had values listed but did not actively engage with them. our stated values. I suggested that we either needed to change our practices to align with our values or reconsider the values we claimed to uphold. More recently, I was in conversation with an interviewing team and had asked how their organizational leaders demonstrated the organizational values and one of the long-time employees on the team said, “I don’t know.” This disclosure told me a lot about the organization’s culture and how its leaders used (or did not use) their values when discussing their decision-making processes or programming and policies.
Reflect on your own organization. Where does it fall in these examples? Are your organization's values merely words on a website or gathering dust in a binder? When was the last time you evaluated if these were truly the values of your organization? How do you embody these values and demonstrate them to your employees? Given the answers to these questions, is this how you would like to see your organization operate?
When an organization embraces its values, it demonstrates its commitments and fosters a sense of shared community and social contract. Furthermore, the values act as navigational tools for the organization’s path forward and bring consistency to building culture as the values are expressed in new programming, product offerings, corrective actions, and day-to-day operations.
So how do you begin embracing these values?
1. Define the values
It is vital that your values are clearly defined and not abstract. Include examples of how these values might manifest in your work. If you can't come up with examples, it may be time to rethink a particular value.
2. Use the values in operations and decision-making
Your values should be integral to your decision-making processes and organizational culture. Highlight your values in meetings, processes, and operations. Leading by example in this area will encourage your employees to engage with your values as well. Using values in decision-making demonstrates to employees how to incorporate values into organizational processes and changes.
3. Recognize those who demonstrate the values
To reinforce your organization's values, recognize employees who put these values into action. This recognition reinforces your commitment to your values for both the individual and the rest of the organization. It also encourages active engagement in work being performed.
As leaders and employees actively engage with your organization’s values on a regular basis, you’ll be able to see how the shared culture emerges and productivity increases as everyone works from a shared vision.
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Winsami Solutions & Consulting is here to help with your organization's workforce strategy. Our mission is to support organizations in adapting their People & Culture practices to meet the needs of an evolving workforce.
Winsami Wisdom
I wrote an article last December (2024) asking about who benefits from the gains in AI productivity and what I can say nearly a year later is that I’ve been deeply disappointed about the direction we’re heading. As AI implementation accelerates across organizations in the US and the globe, I see articles, organizations, and well-known speakers talk about how the future of work is intertwined with AI. Yet what I’ve actually observed are layoffs, hiring freezes for entry and junior-level roles, premature adoption of incomplete AI products, and widespread disregard for long-term AI strategies or environmental impacts. This leads me to ask: Are we truly witnessing the Future of Work or the Future of Exploitation? To me, the answer looks uncomfortably like exploitation. Exploitation of Businesses Incorporating AI It seems like everywhere you turn these days there is a new AI company offering organizations a solution to their pain points that AI can solve instantly. However, in conversations I’ve had with peers, I’ve heard that some companies make sweeping promises of results without having an actual system ready. They are essentially building it during implementation. In others, I’ve heard how AI companies do not disclose what happens to data that is being fed into the system. In other words, your data is probably being used to train their systems so they can sell it to another buyer. You’re paying to be both a consumer and data supplier. Exploitation of Workers While I have deep concerns for business leaders navigating the exploitation from AI companies, I feel deeply terrible for the employees who are being exploited by AI. When an organization lays off an entire or the majority of a team, who is left to pick up this work? Another team? A few remaining team members? Who gets compensated? Let me tell you, the remaining employees pick up the work and the compensation goes straight to executives or to shareholders. Not once have I heard or seen an article that addresses how employees will be rewarded for their new level of productivity. Their additional productivity and the profits that come from it are not realized by the employee. And worse, they see their peers in the proverbial “unemployment line” and hope to not suffer a similar fate. If that weren’t enough, many organizations fail to train employees properly on using AI tools, resulting in AI work slop, low-quality, machine-generated output that requires hours of rework. Inadequate or absent training erodes employees’ ability to think critically, diminishing engagement and discretionary effort since the focus is on output quantity and not necessarily quality. Furthermore, entry and junior level employees have all, but been told that they have no value because AI can do their work. This short-sightedness from organizational leadership is actively harmful in a number of different ways including: No succession pipeline: Without entry-level hires, there’s no foundation for future leadership. Lost mentorship opportunities: Mid- and senior-level employees lose chances to develop as mentors and leaders. Stifled innovation: Teams miss out on fresh perspectives and ideas from early-career professionals. Exploitation of the Community and Environment While this issue extends beyond any single organization, it reflects a broader systemic failure in how AI is being implemented. The electrical and water resources required to support AI development has exploited communities across the US. Ordinary people, maybe even your workers, are paying higher utility bills because of the resource demands for AI systems. Fresh water from communities is also being extracted to the benefit of data centers with the external costs being pushed onto unsuspecting communities. The real cherry on top is the pollution created by these data centers. So not only are residents paying more for electricity, they’re watching their water supply depleted and their air quality decline to sustain “AI innovation.” Future of Exploitation Implementing technology to reduce labor costs or increase productivity is nothing new. There is no future-focus for making things better. The current path we’ve set upon for AI is a system aimed at extracting even more from workers and global communities. This is a path for destruction and chaos. There is Hope! While our current path is bleak, there are things leaders could be considering right now to create a more humane, sustainable, and improved future of work. Have an AI Strategy Partner with your leadership teams to determine how AI will be implemented in your organization and ask the tough questions: 1. What specific problems is AI solving? 2. What policies should be enacted to protect our data? 3. What sort of infrastructure are we implementing to ensure our employees are knowledgeable about the AI tools we’re using? 4. How do we humanely support employees whose positions are impacted by AI implementation? Can we reskill them or redeploy them to another part of the organization to develop new opportunities? 5. How will we evaluate AI vendors to ensure reliability, transparency, and accountability in their data practices? 6. How is our AI vendor off-setting the environmental impacts of their data centers? Are there vendors that do similar work with a stronger focus on sustainability? Explore Benefits from Increased Productivity Rather than laying people off, consider alternatives for enriching your workforce from your productivity gains. Imagine the positive impacts the following could have on your organization and employer brand if you: 1. Implemented a shorter work week 2. Added redundancy to reduce single points of failure. Check out my article on lazy ants and see what I mean 3. Built community through meaningful engagement 4. Provided increased employee pay proportional to productivity gains 5. Reintroduced side project time (as Google once did) to give employees time to work on new skills or projects of interest 6. Expanded new or enhanced benefits, especially those related to health and well-being 7. Supported a cause or several causes supported by your employees 8. Invested in activities that promote sustainability 9. Redesigned office spaces to facilitate creative thinking, reflection, and healthy living The True Future of Work The Future of Work isn’t about just efficiency; it is about being more human. It’s about creating workplaces that nurture growth, community, sustainability, purpose, and fulfillment. The Future of Work shouldn’t be about extraction and exploitation it should be about building a shared vision that benefits all. We are at a moment in time where we have the power to change the status quo and build truly transformational organizations that value our humanity, provide a sense of community, and focus on long-term sustainability. As Eminem once said, “If you had one shot or one opportunity to seize everything you ever wanted one moment, would you capture it? Or just let it slip?” References and Further Reading: https://www.cnbc.com/2025/09/23/ai-generated-workslop-is-destroying-productivity-and-teams-researchers-say.html https://www.forbes.com/sites/andreahill/2025/08/27/ai-replacing-entry-level-jobs-the-impact-on-workers-and-the-economy/ https://www.nlc.org/article/2025/05/23/data-centers-and-local-environmental-considerations/ https://www.cio.com/article/3996256/what-roi-ai-misfires-spur-ceos-to-rethink-adoption.html
Over the past year, many organizations have implemented "Return to Office" (RTO) mandates, often with the goal of improving culture or productivity. However, preliminary research suggests that not only do these mandates often fail to achieve their intended outcomes, but they can also increase turnover, lower morale, reduce productivity, and make recruitment more difficult. Many employees struggle to see the value of these mandates, and organizations frequently fall short in explaining their importance. As a strong advocate for maintaining hybrid and fully remote work—particularly for distributed teams—I believe there are strategies organizations can use to enhance the RTO experience. Here are some recommendations: 1. Be Intentional and Transparent Organizations should clearly articulate why they are adopting an RTO model. If the goal is to build culture, specify the type of culture being pursued and establish programs, policies, expectations, and metrics to track progress. Senior leaders must lead by example, modeling the behaviors they expect from employees. For instance, if the objective is to foster collaboration, leaders should actively engage in collaborative efforts. If, on the other hand, the rationale for RTO is to better monitor employee work, be upfront about it. The quickest way to erode trust is by being disingenuous. Don’t claim the goal is cultural growth if the real aim is oversight. While employees may not necessarily agree with the reasoning, they will respect the honesty. 2. Build Community Humans are inherently social beings, and a sense of community and belonging is essential. If employees return to the office only to sit in front of a computer doing tasks they could easily complete from home, resentment and disengagement are likely. Organizational leaders should proactively create opportunities for community building. For example: Organize team lunches. End the workday early occasionally for team-building activities, like trivia or games. Encourage employees to propose ideas for connection, increasing engagement and inclusivity (this works well for remote teams too). 3. Be Flexible A significant advantage of hybrid and remote work is the ability for employees to balance personal and professional obligations more effectively. Organizations should consider offering flexible schedules to ease the transition to in-office work. While not the same as fully remote or hybrid roles, flexibility helps employees adjust to these new routines. 4. Offer Lifestyle Benefits This strategy may require more resources but can significantly ease the transition. Employees returning to a five-day in-office schedule may face challenges in managing care for loved ones, such as children, aging parents, or pets. This additional stress can hinder their ability to focus. Organizations could: Partner with nearby childcare or eldercare facilities. Establish collaborations with healthcare providers, gyms, or restaurants close to the office. Making services accessible near the workplace can reduce stress and resistance to RTO policies. 5. Be Human and Listen Regardless of the reason for the RTO mandate, it’s critical to listen to employees' concerns. What are their challenges? What could ease their transition? Even if the organization cannot resolve every issue, taking time to listen shows care and builds trust. Final Thoughts While transitioning back to the office can be challenging, implementing one or more of these strategies can ease the process. Organizations should also consider tracking employee sentiment and productivity before and after enforcing RTO policies. This data could provide valuable insights, potentially leading to a reconsideration of hybrid or remote work models if warranted. By prioritizing transparency, community, flexibility, and empathy, organizations can create a workplace culture that fosters collaboration and engagement—whether in the office, at home, or somewhere in between.
The other day, I was excited to sit down and watch some of HackingHR’s replay on their AI in HR conference. It was the first time in a couple of months that I could really dive back into HR topics. While I haven’t watched all the content, the messaging in the sessions left me concerned and reflecting on AI in the workplace. My perspective is limited to the USA since I haven’t worked elsewhere (okay, I did a short internship at a Japanese elementary school in 2004, but that’s not really relevant). However, my concerns might resonate with a broader, global context. The sessions I watched focused on upskilling and reskilling workers, making them more productive, and impacting the employee lifecycle. However, none of the content I’ve seen so far addressed a critical question: Who receives the benefits of increased worker productivity? According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics , real hourly compensation has not kept pace with labor productivity gains. As labor becomes more productive, those gains have been redistributed to organizations or their leadership rather than to employees. I’m not trying to be political, but in the interest of fairness, if employees are contributing increased productivity, shouldn’t they receive rewards or incentives reflecting their added value to the organization? I strongly believe that HR and People Operations leaders who are serious about the future of work must have deep, and likely, uncomfortable conversations with their leadership teams about how the benefits of increased productivity from AI should be distributed. I also encourage leaders to avoid viewing productivity gains solely as a way to reduce headcount and create leaner teams. As we look toward the future of work, we should prioritize improving employees’ quality of life. In my ideal scenario, incorporating AI into operations would include one or more of the following approaches: Increased wages for employees – With productivity and profits rising (whether from revenue growth or cost reductions), employees should be rewarded for their enhanced productivity. Demonstrate your organization’s commitment to its workforce by sharing these gains. I believe increases in base pay, rather than one-time bonus payments, should be the standard in these circumstances. Reduced work hours – If employees are more productive, they may not need to work 40-50 hours a week. A four-day work week or reduced weekly hours could be considered. Importantly, reduced hours should not result in reduced pay. If employees are maintaining or exceeding previous productivity levels, they should not be penalized for their efficiency. Increased community building – As AI boosts worker productivity, leaders should model behaviors that enhance human connection and community building to improve employee inclusion, deepen trust, and emphasize the human experience of collaboration. This doesn’t necessarily mean mandating return-to-office policies; as an online gamer, I’ve witnessed incredible community building in MMORPG guilds in entirely virtual settings. Instead, focus on approaches that strengthen personal relationships, whether in-person or online. How we choose to distribute the gains from AI-assisted productivity will profoundly shape the future of work and society as a whole. We can either maintain the status quo—where productivity gains are not shared with workers and communities—or embrace this opportunity to improve employees’ and communities’ lives. I hope you’ll join me in advocating for the latter as we lay the foundation for the future of work. -- Winsami Solutions & Consulting is here to help with your organization's People Operations strategy. Our mission is to support organizations in adapting their People & Culture practices to meet the needs of an evolving workforce.