The Dishwasher Divide: How to Decode Tight and Loose Cultures

Why do some workplaces enforce strict rules while others never seem to start a meeting on time? What happens when a rule-following “Order Muppet”—think Kermit the Frog—pairs up with a “Chaos Muppet” like Cookie Monster? And what does how you load the dishwasher reveal about your cultural mindset?

In this episode of The Culture Kit, hosts Jenny Chatman and Sameer Srivastava welcome Dr. Michele Gelfand, a professor at Stanford’s Graduate School of Business and pioneer of the “tight-loose” framework for analyzing culture. Gelfand, a cross-cultural psychologist, reveals how invisible cultural forces shape behavior across nations, organizations, and even households, offering a powerful lens to understand why some groups thrive with structure while others flourish with freedom. 

The conversation unpacks how companies navigate cultural challenges during crises like the pandemic, mergers, and the remote work revolution. Gelfand shares tools for leaders to identify when their organization has become too rigid or too lax, and strategies for achieving “tight-loose ambidexterity—a balance of accountability and empowerment that drives success.

The full transcript of this episode is available at haas.org/culture-kit.

3 main takeaways from Jenny & Sameer’s interview with Michele Gelfand:

1. Cultural tightness and looseness exist on a spectrum. This pattern appears at all levels from nations to organizations to families, often developing in response to external threats or coordination needs.
2. Both extremes can be problematic for organizations. Companies that become too tight risk stifling creativity and adaptability, while those that become too loose might lack accountability and coordination. “Tight-loose ambidexterity” balances empowerment with accountability for sustainable success.
3. Leaders can strategically adjust cultural tightness.  By identifying which specific domains need structure versus flexibility, organizations can adapt to changing circumstances. This includes using "flexible tightness" in safety-critical areas while maintaining looseness in creative domains, or implementing the "tight-loose-tight" model with clear expectations, freedom in execution, and accountability for results.

Show Links:

• Michele Gelfand's website
• “Rule Makers, Rule Breakers: How Tight and Loose Cultures Wire Our World,” By Michele Gelfand, 2018.
• “The relationship between cultural tightness–looseness and COVID-19 cases and deaths: a global analysis.” By Michele Gelfand, et al. The Lancet Planetary Health, 2021
• “Organizational Culture and Firm Performance Under Environmental Volatility: The Case of the COVID-19 Pandemic.” By Jennifer Chatman, Michele Gelfand, et al. 2024
• “One Reason Mergers Fail: The Two Cultures Aren’t Compatible.” By Michele Gelfand, et al. Harvard Business Review, 2022. 
• Michele Gelfand’s tight-loose mindset quiz
• “Duality in Diversity: How Intrapersonal and Interpersonal Cultural Heterogeneity Relate to Firm Performance,” by Matthew Corritore, Amir Goldberg, and Sameer Srivastava. Administrative Science Quarterly, 2019.
• Learn more about the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation.

Do you have a vexing question about work that you want Jenny and Sameer to answer? Submit your “Fixit Ticket!” 

Learn more about the podcast and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation at www.haas.org/culture-kit.

*The Culture Kit with Jenny & Sameer is a production of UC Berkeley's Haas School of Business and the Berkeley Center for Workplace Culture and Innovation. It is produced by University FM.*