There is a large body of research on the area of positive organisational psychology that demonstrates that not only is a cut-throat environment harmful to productivity over time, but that a positive environment will lead to dramatic benefits for employers, employees, and the bottom line.

Although there’s an assumption that stress and pressure pushes employees to perform more, better, and faster, what cut throat organisations fail to recognise is the hidden costs incurred.

1. The cost of disengagement. While a cut-throat environment and a culture of fear can ensure engagement (and sometimes even excitement) for some time, research suggests that the inevitable stress it creates will likely lead to disengagement over the long term. Engagement in work — which is associated with feeling valued, secure, supported, and respected — is generally negatively associated with a high-stress, cut-throat culture.

2. . Lack of loyalty: Research shows that workplace stress leads to an increase of almost 50% in voluntary turnover. People go on the job market, decline promotions, or resign. And the turnover costs associated with recruiting, training, lowered productivity, lost expertise, and so forth, are significant.

Companies use a wide variety of benefits and reward programmes from health insurance, pensions, gym membership, working from home facilities etc, however it is still possible for companies to miss the key elements of engagement and loyalty that grows organically from an organisations culture. Employees prefer workplace wellbeing to material benefits.

Focusing your attention on creating a work culture that inspires employees to work with one another as a team, in a meaningfulness way, in an atmosphere that treats each other with respect, shows gratitude, trust, and integrity – can really make a different to the bottom line in any business.