“IT’S LIKE VEGEMITE” – WHY THE BUSINESS WORLD HAS A LOVE-HATE RELATIONSHIP WITH CULTURE

When it comes to business, culture is something of a ‘vegemite’ word: you either love it and embrace all that it stands for, or you hate it and avoid it at all costs.

At Atomic 212°, we are tremendous believers in the virtue of strong culture, which we try to live by remembering that our colleagues are people first.

It seems like such an obvious thing to say, but as more of our communication is reduced to ones and zeroes, it can be easy to forget that you’re actually working with a brilliant group of people you trust, respect, and whose company you very much enjoy.

GREAT PEOPLE MAKE FOR STRONG CULTURE

It crept up on us so slowly that many people may not have noticed, but most open-plan offices sound like libraries these days, because everyone is communicating via digital means.

Think about walking into that office on your first day, perhaps fresh out of uni – you’re already trying not to rock the boat, so if no one’s talking, you’d be petrified to be the person who breaks the silence.

An atmosphere where people are actually scared to ask a question isn’t healthy, at least not in our industry.

It’s part of the reason we implemented the Talk First initiative, where we banned internal email to encourage staff communication and productivity. Read more

Jason Dooris - Dynamic Business - 27 July 2017