‘Don’t sit at the water cooler’: Boeing CEO scorches employees for ‘arguing amongst ourselves’ in the wake of 737 Max 8 disasters — how to contribute to a productive workplace culture

More consequential than competitve concerns are the firm’s recent high-profile disasters, chief among which are its faulty 737 Max 8 planes, which were involved in two crashes, in 2018 and 2019, that killed 346 people.

More recently, the company had to contend with an eight-week machinist strike, which ended in November,

The company reported losses of $6.17 billion in the quarter that ended Sept. 30.

The work culture of deflecting responsibility, overspending, and overpaid managers is to blame for Boeing's ballooning problems, Ortberg said.

“Don’t sit at the water cooler and b—h about people,” Ortberg told employees on the call. “We’re at a low here, folks.”

Office personality

All companies, even those far less embattled than Boeing, have to pay attention to interpersonal dynamics among employees. And anyone employed a medium-size or large firm would do well to think about how they can contribute to a healthy culture.

Whether you’re on location or working remote, everyone has some type of office personality, a style of communication they adopt at work.

Every job has an office gossip, for example.

Indeed identified 10 workplace personality types, including the people-pleaser, the perfectionist, and the upward worker.

Some people work best in their silos, others are motivated by competition, and there are even employees who thrive by inspiring others.

Whatever your office personality type, it’s important to know which qualities help you and which ones hinder you in the workplace.

Likability vs. status

The difference between likability and status in professional settings is an important one to understand, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill psychologist Mitch Prinstein argues.

People should invest in being likable as much as anything else, Prinstein said.

"Likability is one of the most valuable commodities, not just in the business world but in all of our social relationships," Prinstein said.

Cooperation, teambuilding, being helpful and following the rules are all qualities of a likable person.

Status-seekers may see a faster career progression in the short term, but status is also highly correlated with loneliness, according to Prinstein.

Who are you popular with?

It’s worth asking who at work you actually want to be liked by, argues performance coach Tamzin Hall.

No one is liked by everyone, so considering your target audience may be beneficial.

Colleagues, clients, network, bosses or potential bosses are all different audiences, and you can’t be equally popular with them all.

“You cannot be the life and soul of the party by making your colleagues laugh and aim to be popular with your bosses,” Hall says.

If you’re true to yourself, your genuine nature will shine through, Hall advises, and focusing your energy away from that may come back to bite you.

Lessons for Boeing

Back in October, Ortberg said the breakdown in company culture came from managers not spending enough time on the factory floor and sometimes living states away.