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The New Uber Cultural Norms and What They Mean for Drivers

Uber CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced eight new “cultural norms” for the company on Tuesday. The list was created with input from over 1,200 submissions from Uber employees. After these submissions came a list of norms which Uber personnel voted on—over 22,000 times.

Here are the new Uber cultural norms.

We Are Customer Obsessed

This is a bold statement for Uber. It’s also indicative of a change in what matters to Uber. The company has developed a reputation for being more concerned with profit than people—whether that’s employees or customers. However, under Khosrowshahi, Uber appears to be stepping in a new direction.

We Value Ideas Over Hierarchy and We Celebrate Differences

These norms appear to replace the old Uber value of “toe-stepping.” This toe-stepping intended to promote innovation the open sharing of ideas across all levels, not just the highest level. However, as Khosrowshahi explained in via LinkedIn, “’Toe-stepping’ was meant to encourage employees to share their ideas regardless of their seniority or position in the company, but too often it was used as an excuse for being an asshole.”

We Make Big Bold Bets and Do the Right Thing

Experts are speculating that value statements of other prominent companies influenced these cultural norms. For example, Google’s “don’t be evil” statement, or Facebook’s “be bold,” sound very similar to Uber’s new statements.

Think Globally, Act Locally

This cultural norm comes from the urban planning world. It reflects the growth Uber has seen in the last few years. It signals a move away from the utilitarian, startup feel in the cultural norms and toward a people-centric focus. As with other norms on the list, this value shift is reminiscent of changes in other companies’ patterns.

We Persevere

Given how much heat Uber has taken for harassment charges and other fallout from Travis Kalanick’s time as CEO, this norm isn’t surprising. Uber will need the grit Khosrowshahi mentioned to survive as a company just like drivers have needed it to make their business work amidst low pay, unstable markets and difficult customers.

We Act Like Owners

Hopefully this norm is indicative of a definite shift toward employee retention and better conditions. In his explanation of the norm, Khosrowshahi seems to understand the work it’s going to take to build a sustainable Uber: “We have a bias for action and accountability. We finish what we start and we build Uber to last. And when we make mistakes, we’ll own up to them.”

What the Uber Cultural Norms Mean for Drivers

The new Uber cultural norms seem to be good news for drivers for several reasons. First of all, Uber is actually paying attention to its company culture, which has deteriorated rapidly in the last year. Secondly, the method of creating the norms demonstrates that Uber is making attempts to listen to employees. Hopefully, this means Uber is moving toward a more sustainable business model that includes listening to and taking care of its employees.

Lastly, Khosrowshahi calls these “cultural norms,” not values, which he says is because he expects them to change, meaning Uber is open to more open to changes than it has been in the past.

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