WORKPLACE CULTURE CHECKLIST
Adapted from Richard Seel (1998)
www.new-paradigm.co.uk
BOUNDARIES
Who are members of the workplace?
? Agency staff
? Permanent staff only
? Temporary staff
? retired staff
? Customers
? Family members of staff
CHANGE/LONGEVITY OF EMPLOYEES
? Perceived as continuous
? Sense of stability 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
COMMUNICATION 
? Attitude towards communication ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Frequency of communication 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? How are strangers greeted
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
COMMUNICATION CONT. 
? Style of communication
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Preferred & most common modes of communication
(written or verbal, e-mail or memo, telephone or face-to-face)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Acceptable ways of offering opinions
(impassioned arguing, rationale debate, shouting acceptable)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
GROUP AND NETWORKS
? Formal or informal
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Rumor or gossip rate
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Sanctioned or illegitimate
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Strength of the grapevine
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Share or individual work tasks
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
DEVIANCY
? Is non-normative or non-traditional behavior admired or deprecated? 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Are jokes and pranks acceptable and celebrated? 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
DRESS CODE
? Formal or informal
? How rigidly enforced
Are there dress-down days?
How do people dress for off-site meetings?
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? How many classes of dress are there?
(uniforms, casual, two piece suits) 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? How rigidly enforced
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
FOOD
? Canteens &/or cafeteria
? Use of food in meetings
? Working lunches
? Out of office activities
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HISTORY
? Attitudes about the organization’s history
? Attitudes towards certain “heroes” or “villains”
? Are stories shared (in public places or in private places)
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
HOME & WORK
? Attitudes towards child care
? Role of spouse/family time
? Are get-togethers held with family 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
MEETINGS
? How are new members acclimated 
? How often 
? Setting
? Shape of table
? Who attends
? Who sits where
? Who speaks
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
______________________________________________________________________
REWARDS & RECOGNITIONS
? Basis of reward
Individual-based
Team-based
Organization-based
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Indicators of status (salary, plaques, work space, uniforms, etc.)  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Bonus system
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Public rewards or recognitions
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SPACE (USE OF)
? Allocation of work space
Décor an indicator of social structure?
Location an indicator of social structure?
Size an indicator of social structure?
? Labeling: How easy is it for strangers to find specific people?
Analogue of ease of entry to organization 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
SPACE (USE OF) CONT.
? Mapping of function or process to space 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Open plan vs. individual. offices
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Public vs. private space
Use of toilets (one or multiple stalls)
Work space
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? State of building (clean, in need of decoration, etc.) 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
? Degree of accessibility 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TIME
? Attitudes to time (busy or relaxed)
? Attitudes to past & future  (emphasis on planning)
? Punctuality (virtue or vice) 
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
WORDS
? Jargon
? Modes of address 
Different to customers/clients
First name to all or some
Mr./Mrs. upward, first name downward
Terms of address; terms of reference
Treatment of women, disability 
? Joking 
? Swear Words 
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________