High-Performance Cultures and Employee Well-being

By Nancy Spangler, PhD, OTR/L

Consultant to ResiliencePRO
Orriant Health

Each of us has a definition of “high performance,” perhaps derived from cars, shoes, or fabrics, such as in the sporty clothes so many of us have worn during the COVID-19 pandemic.

When you think of a high-performance work culture, do you imagine all the pressure in an organization to be better, faster, or more efficient — and the toll that takes on workers’ minds and bodies? Despite those associations, research suggests that high-performance cultures may be just the work-around needed to counter the inevitable stress and pressures that naturally pop up in workplaces, even without pandemics.

What Is a High-Performance Culture?

In a high-performance work culture, the work practices and environments enable the organization to perform at high levels.^1,2 Researchers have teased out some the factors that contribute to high-performance cultures.^3,4,5 To summarize and paraphrase, sustainable high-performance organizations cultivate and support a shared responsibility for individual and organizational resilience. High-performance cultures tend to:

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