Forget the Snacks: Rethinking Company Culture

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Aug 28, 2026

By Deb Samuels-Peretz, PhD

Free snacks. Nap pods. Cool offices. Basketball courts. Unlimited Nutella. 🍫

Sounds like the perfect workplace, right?

But here’s the real question: Do perks actually create a great company culture?

In today’s workplace, organizations are investing heavily in creating attractive environments. Yet challenges like quiet quitting, “coffee badging,” employee turnover, disengagement, and poor management continue to grow.

Maybe the problem isn’t the lack of perks.

Maybe it’s the lack of people skills.

In her latest speech, Deb Peretz explores what truly drives workplace culture—and why soft skills may be one of the most overlooked ingredients in building a successful organization.

Culture Is Built by People

Company culture isn’t created by office furniture or free food. It’s created through everyday interactions between people.

How leaders communicate.

How managers handle difficult conversations.

How employees collaborate.

How accountability is practiced.

How people listen, give feedback, resolve conflict, and treat one another.

These skills directly influence employee engagement, job satisfaction, productivity, and retention.

A great leader can make employees feel valued, heard, and motivated. A poor manager can do the opposite—even in the coolest office in town.

The Soft Skills Advantage

Technical expertise may help someone get hired, but communication, emotional intelligence, adaptability, leadership, and interpersonal skills often determine how successfully they work with others.

That’s why investing in employee development isn’t simply an HR initiative. It’s a business strategy.

Organizations that strengthen their people skills can create stronger leaders, healthier relationships, better communication, and more engaged teams.
And when employees feel respected, supported, and connected to their workplace, they’re more likely to stay.

So, What Really Creates Great Culture?

Perks can certainly make work more enjoyable. Keep the snacks. Keep the nap pods. And yes… keep the Nutella! 😉

But don’t mistake perks for culture.

The future of workplace culture is about better communication, stronger leadership, greater accountability, continuous development, and better relationships.

Because ultimately, a great company culture isn’t something you can buy.

It’s something people build—together.

Video Link:

https://youtu.be/7AOjnC45kBw

Deb Samuels-Peretz, PhD, is Co-Founder and Vice President of Learning & Development at TheRealMe, where she helps organizations better understand and develop the human skills that drive workplace success. An educator, entrepreneur, and speaker, she focuses on how communication, critical thinking, emotional intelligence, adaptability, and other human capabilities are becoming increasingly important for hiring, developing, and leading talent in the age of AI.

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