Culture: The Silent Power Shaping Workplaces

“सुखस्य मूलं धर्मः। धर्मस्य मूलं अर्थः। अर्थस्य मूलं राज्यम्।”

These days, everyone seems to be talking about workplace culture. Walk into a meeting with business leaders or scroll through HR forums, and the word pops up everywhere. Yet, when you ask someone what culture really means, most pause, fumble, and then say something vague like “the way we work.” The truth is, culture is simply the personality of an organization. It shows in how people greet each other, how leaders behave under pressure, and what behaviours get rewarded or punished. It is invisible, but it runs through every decision, every conversation, every office corridor.

To understand workplace culture better, it helps to step away from modern management jargon and look into our own stories. Indian epics, rich with kingdoms, families, and battles, offer timeless metaphors for the kinds of cultures we see in companies even today.

Picture Ram Rajya. A kingdom where citizens trusted their king as a father figure, where justice was fair, and everyone felt like they belonged. This is what we might call a “family culture” in today’s terms. Some organizations thrive in this way—people-first, community-driven, and built on trust. Amul is a modern echo of this. Born as a cooperative of farmers, it grew not on cutthroat competition but on solidarity and care. Employees in such cultures are expected to show loyalty, collaborate like siblings, and carry respect in their daily work.

Now shift your mind to the Pandavas in exile. They were constantly adjusting, innovating, disguising themselves, and surviving on courage and quick thinking. That spirit is what we see in a “startup culture.” Young companies like Flipkart in its early years embodied this restless energy. Rules were few, ideas were plenty, and success came not from hierarchy but from speed and experimentation. Professionals who enter such environments need to carry curiosity, flexibility, and the courage to try, fail, and try again.

Contrast this with the Kauravas. Their world revolved around power, victory, and the thrill of beating rivals. They symbolize what we might call a “target culture.” The focus here is sharp: win the market, beat the competition, achieve results. Reliance Industries, especially in its ambitious expansion years, was a striking example of this approach—driven, competitive, and relentless. In such organizations, ambition, discipline, and resilience are the traits that carry you forward.

Finally, think of Bhishma Pitamah, bound by his vow, standing as a pillar of discipline and order, even when it came at personal cost. Or recall Chanakya’s Arthashastra, which placed structure and governance above all. That is the “system culture”—built on rules, authority, and predictability. Infosys, in its formative years, carried this reputation, admired for governance and process discipline. Here, patience, reliability, and respect for structure become the qualities that professionals need to cultivate.

What is fascinating is that no company stays frozen in one type of culture. Just like kingdoms in our stories, organizations evolve. Amul still holds the heart of a family culture but now runs with the support of systems. Flipkart started with the chaos and energy of a startup but had to embrace hierarchy and structure after Walmart entered the picture. Reliance, long associated with the hunger to dominate markets, has gradually infused more system culture to prepare for global growth. And Infosys, once the model of hierarchy, has been nudged to inject agility to keep pace with disruptive times.

So the question is not which culture is good or bad. Each has its strength. Each has its shadow. For a professional, the key is to recognize what kind of environment they are in and ask whether it aligns with their own values. Do you feel at home in a family-like workplace where belonging matters most? Or are you at your best in the adventurous chaos of a startup? Do you thrive in the adrenaline of targets, or do you find comfort in the order of systems?

And for leaders, the real wisdom lies in blending these worlds. A truly resilient organization carries the warmth of family, the daring spirit of startups, the fire of competition, and the discipline of systems. That blend is not easy, but it is what shapes companies that last beyond generations.

At the end of the day, culture is not a policy written in HR manuals. It is the silent force that shapes careers, defines reputations, and even decides destinies. Much like in our epics, the culture of a kingdom determined the fate of its people. In today’s world, the culture of an organization does  he very same.

💭 What about your workplace? Do you see more of Dharma, Artha, or Rajyam shaping its culture?