Change can be top-down or bottom-up. Ultimately, you need both together.

KEY POINTS

• As employees experience the “Great Detachment,” leaders are trying to change workplace culture.
• When working to shift culture, ask where the push for change is coming from and what impact it can have.
• To bring top-down and bottom-up together, leverage bridge builders and make diverse perspectives essential.

How would you describe your workplace culture?

Is it “rise and grind?” Or more “wellness Wednesdays?”

Recently, CEOs at large U.S. companies like AT&T and Amazon have been extolling the virtues of “hardcore” workplace culture and implementing policies to foster it (like mandatory onsite work and 996 schedules). The “rise and grind” ethos prizes not only long hours and time in the office, but also a fast-paced, high-pressure environment focused on performance metrics, financial goals, and personal sacrifice. From the rise of AI and economic uncertainty to generational and sociopolitical tensions, as well as the complexities of remote, hybrid, and asynchronous work, multiple forces are fueling this “hardcore” shift.

At the same time, other workplaces are moving toward “well-being” cultures, continuing pandemic-era trends. With a people-first ethos, these cultures instead prioritize investment in employees’ health and wellness, value autonomy and trust, and focus on results. Policies include workplace wellness programs, flexible work arrangements and schedules, and growth opportunities. While some organizations are known for this kind of culture, others have been shifting toward it to attract and retain younger workers and bolster productivity and profitability.

How do these changes align with what employees actually want from their workplaces? Post-pandemic, American professionals desire personalization—significant choice over where and how they work and benefits that are tailored to their needs. In a recent survey of in-person, hybrid, and remote workers, one in three said that their current job does not enable them to work in their preferred location, whether in-house or offsite. While employees are also concerned about AI, the economy, and more, they want workplaces that value and respect them, give them a voice in decision-making, and provide opportunities to grow.

Whatever changes are underway, worker engagement and satisfaction are at a 10-year low—what Gallup termed the “Great Detachment.” And policies like return-to-office that reduce flexibility have some clear costs—like increasing turnover and widening the gender pay gap. Despite efforts to change culture, something remains amiss in the American workplace.

Is the Push for Change Coming from the Top or Bottom?

As we saw in Principle #2, when there are problems in a culture, it’s important to scan for trouble spots—places where there could be tensions or misalignments among the four key parts of culture (Ideas, Institutions, Interactions, and Individuals). Another important dynamic is where along the Culture Cycle the impetus for change originates.

Some assume that change is driven by leaders who set the vision, make policies, and enforce them, from the top down. Others insist that real change comes from the bottom up, from grassroots efforts or employee-led initiatives. Ultimately, for culture change to be lasting and successful, research shows both top-down and bottom-up parts of the culture need to be engaged.

Therefore, the third principle in the intentional culture change framework is: Culture change takes both top-down and bottom-up efforts. Since all cultures share the same key building blocks working together in a dynamic system, the Culture Cycle can help identify where the push for change originates and anticipate how the rest of the cycle could respond. Top-down change comes from the left-hand side of the culture cycle (Ideas and Institutions) and those who wield relatively more power and status in society. Bottom-up change comes from the right-hand side of the culture cycle (Interactions and Individuals) and those with relatively less formal power and status in society.

Neither top-down nor bottom-up change is inherently good or evil, right or wrong. But power dynamics matter. Top-down change can often be viewed as protecting the interests of those in power or serving to preserve the status quo. Yet Ideas and Institutions are powerful levers of change. In contrast, bottom-up change can be viewed as challenging the status quo or disrupting current power dynamics. And people, communities, and collectives—at the Individuals and Interactions levels—have sparked change throughout history. Bringing top-down and bottom-up change processes together requires savvy stakeholders because those initiating change can have substantially different interests, stakes, and levels of formal and informal power

Integrating Top-Down and Bottom-Up

One approach that can help with negotiating these tensions is to engage a key changemaker or form a strategic coalition that can work as trusted and influential “bridge builders” among stakeholders in an organization. This well-placed individual or team can be the bridge between the top and bottom, establishing shared goals and interests and helping people recognize different perspectives.

For instance, both employers and employees are struggling to find their footing in today’s uncertain and shifting climate. Organizations are undergoing rapid changes in response to societal shifts and fluctuating markets; the “old ways” aren’t working and leaders don’t have all the answers. Employees have been bearing the brunt of ongoing change as leaders experiment, feeling a lack of direction, stability, and clear expectations. Work-related burnout is also increasing, with significant costs to both people and organizations.

If you are a leader or in a position to influence top-down change, you can strive to ensure that employees’ experiences and points of view are essential to the organization’s feedback loop. Toyota’s lean manufacturing model, which values frontline employees and incorporates perspectives across the organization, is a classic example of how to build and change culture this way. Leaders can also work to foster transparency and trust, so that even potentially unpopular changes include employees in the decision-making process.

And if you are an employee considering sparking change in your organization from the bottom up, consider going beyond calling attention to trouble spots in the culture or why change is needed. Be proactive in piloting and suggesting solutions, and work to get leaders on your side by becoming part of the feedback loop. You can also harness the power of collective problem-solving and action—leverage your networks to seek out peers in similar kinds of organizations to share ideas and resources.

Top-down and bottom-up don’t need to be “us vs. them.” Instead, identify how the often-hidden dynamics of culture change work and harness them for good.