“In a survey conducted earlier this year by Flexjobs, an employment site, culture was the most common reason people gave for quitting. And it matters more than high wages…The problem is that culture can be very hard to fathom from the outside. It resides in quotidian interactions between colleagues and in the hidden threads that bind decisions on everything from promotions to product development. You need to be inside an organisation to really understand it. But more sunlight is getting in. Firms are doing more to signal what they stand for.” - Reading corporate culture from the outside. (Bartleby/The Economist  July 7, 2022)

The Economist piece mentioned two companies that had officially signaled what they stood for: Qualtrics and Justworks. Having piqued my curiosity, I went to the company websites to find out more. Some excerpts:

Qualtrics TACOS Culture: 

Transparency: Our default is to share, debate, trust, and make data-influenced decisions.

All In: Willing to put in effort beyond what is expected.

Customer-obsessed: there is only one mantra: If a customer is upset, we failed. Period. We learn, and we fix it.

One Team: we are positively inclusive; people with different backgrounds, ages, or opinions collaborate well at this company.

Scrappy:  means that we're smart, resourceful, and find a way. We’re quick to call out that it doesn’t mean doing more with less for the sake of things. But scrappy means that we max out what we can do with what we have and won’t give up as barriers present themselves.

Justworks COGIS Values:  

Camaraderie: crucial teamwork, higher purpose, and a healthy dose of fun

Openness: We believe in radical transparency. This means we will never charge hidden fees; we will always be upfront with what we can and cannot do.

Grit: when the going gets tough, the tough get going. We are a team of hardworking individuals who are building the best product

Integrity: Without trust, there is no partnership. And without integrity, there is no trust. We will always be open with you about changes and charges. You can always reach out to us with questions, concerns or if you just want to chat about your business needs.

Simplicity: our mission is to streamline and simplify these normally complicated parts of doing business. This means an easy-to-use product for both you and your employees.

These statements about company culture and core values reminded me of a post on patriotism I did a few years ago. Not patriotism as easily mocked, condemned or dismissed - but patriotism as understood by people who embrace patriotic sentiments without apology or irony. From the post, some examples of what patriotism means to the patriotic :

America was born—and born of ideas: that all men are created equal, that they have been given by God certain rights that can be taken from them by no man, and that those rights combine to create a thing called freedom. They were free to pursue happiness, free to worship God, free to talk and speak in public of their views, and to choose their leaders. …American patriotism was the repetition, reaffirmation, and celebration of our founding ideas. Peggy Noonan

Patriotism loves country while recognizing its flaws and working to make it better. Patriotism loves country while acknowledging other cultures. What patriotism means: Guardian Readers 

To me, patriotism means …loving and believing in a country and especially the people in a country. It means celebrating the five main ideals of the United States: equality, rights, liberty, opportunity, and democracy. Without these ideals, people would divide under their differences. What does patriotism mean to you? Essays from Vail Valley high school students  

Patriotism is shown through respect of these values every single day. We believe in the people who surround us, the ones who aren’t like us and the ones who are, because we believe in equality. Standing up for others and standing up for ourselves is a patriotic act which shows that we believe in important rights in our country, such as freedom of speech and religion, and the rights to help others rise above obstacles like discrimination. What does patriotism mean to you? Essays from Vail Valley high school students  

Patriotism can mean serving your country as a soldier, but it can also mean serving your country through small deeds such as helping out your community, leading others, and wanting to make your country and your world the best it can be. To me, patriotism means that you love your country, the people in it, and completely participating in every possible experience and opportunity that arises by being associated with that country. Through the expression of patriotism by respecting our country’s ideals, we unite under our similarities instead of dividing under our differences. What does patriotism mean to you? Essays from Vail Valley high school students  

Part of our service to our country is having pride in our community and looking beyond our differences.  When we learn to celebrate our diversity and freedoms that make our society unique, we are enabled to work together to effectively solve issues that face our country as a whole. Through seeking to connect to others who are different from ourselves in belief, race, background, and culture, we can encourage the rise of patriotism in our country as our differences can unite us. What does patriotism mean to you? Essays from Vail Valley high school students

Common themes:

There are a few differences though: corporate statements about company culture or core values don’t mention devotion or commitment to the organization itself and they have little to say about individual fulfillment. They’re more about working together on a mission, e.g., customer satisfaction, better products, fixing problems. Patriotism is also about working together towards common goals (e.g., the “American Project”) but love of country (the overarching organization) is central. And in the U.S., love of country is bound up with its gift to the individual: liberty, opportunity, and the pursuit of happiness.

Sources and Links:

Bartleby/The Economist: https://www.economist.com/business/2022/07/07/reading-corporate-culture-from-the-outside

Exploring the Problem Space: https://www.exploringtheproblemspace.com/new-blog/2020/10/30/what-patriotism-means-depends-on-whether-one-feels-it

Qualtrics: https://www.qualtrics.com/qualtrics-life/tacos-at-qualtrics-a-history-of-culture/  

Justworks: https://www.justworks.com/about/our-values