Half of UK employees say their organisation’s values must align with their own beliefs, according to new research that underlines how reputation and culture continue to influence workplace choices.
A study by United Culture, a consultancy specialising in workplace culture and employee engagement, surveyed 1,500 office workers across the UK, US and Western Europe. It found that UK staff place a greater emphasis on values than peers in other countries, but also feel that those values are not reflected strongly enough in daily workplace practices.
Eight in 10 respondents across all regions said their employer’s reputation played a significant role in their decision to accept a job. In the UK, 50 percent of employees said value alignment was important, compared to a global average of 41 percent.
This focus on reputation and culture comes amid what researchers described as “a climate of economic and social uncertainty”. Alongside job security, which remains the leading priority for workers, values and transparency are increasingly used as measures of trust in an employer.
United Culture’s managing director, Victoria Lewis-Stephens, said businesses needed to do more than publish values statements. “Reputation and values are a currency employees trade on when the world around them feels uncertain. Transparency and honesty from leaders are essential to building trust,” she said.
The UK-US gap
The findings reveal international differences. While UK employees placed a higher-than-average emphasis on values such as fairness, inclusivity and recognition, only 31 percent believed their organisation’s stated values were genuinely reflected in practice. In the United States, by contrast, nearly half (48 percent) felt their employer lived up to its stated commitments.
Elsewhere in Europe, priorities also diverged. In France, for instance, just 23 percent of respondents placed importance on inclusivity, and only 26 percent highlighted recognition, suggesting cultural differences in what employees expect from their workplace.
Asked how workplace experiences could be improved, 22 percent of respondents across all regions pointed to leadership behaviours, with another 20 percent citing clearer communication and transparency.
The study found that employees wanted honesty even in difficult circumstances. Almost half (45 percent) said open and transparent communication was the most effective way leaders could build trust, preferring “meaningful acknowledgement” to what they saw as sugar-coated reassurance.
Lewis-Stephens said employees increasingly expected authenticity from managers and executives. “People are no longer satisfied with platitudes. They expect their immediate leaders — at the very least — to be honest in a political climate in which terms like ‘post-truth’ are being bandied around,” she said.
HR strategies
Analysts say the findings present challenges for HR leaders seeking to embed values into the employee experience. While reputation may influence initial recruitment decisions, retention depends on whether staff feel those values are evident in daily working life.
This disconnect between stated and lived values can weaken trust and affect engagement, said observers. The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development has previously urged employers to integrate values into leadership behaviours, communications and reward systems rather than treating them as standalone statements.
The research also suggests that transparency brings measurable benefits. A quarter (26 percent) of respondents said they did their best work when leaders communicated openly and frequently. HR experts argue that embedding such behaviours into management training could deliver productivity gains as well as stronger engagement.
A question of culture
United Culture’s study adds to a growing body of research linking organisational culture to business outcomes. Recent surveys by Deloitte and PwC have shown that culture and reputation are now among the top factors influencing job choice for younger workers in particular, including Generation Z.
The findings also reflect wider employee expectations around corporate responsibility. With public trust in institutions under strain, employees are increasingly looking to their employers to demonstrate integrity and social awareness.
For HR teams, this means addressing gaps between espoused values and lived experience, including reviewing policies, listening to employee feedback and ensuring leaders are accountable for modelling desired behaviours.
