As a manager or business owner, you know how difficult it can be to keep reliable, trustworthy employees. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself why this is true? In many instances, employees leave their jobs because of the culture of the workplace. In fact, many workers report that they would prefer lower pay and a fantastic culture over higher pay and a poor working environment.

Here are five ways that you can turn your company’s culture on its head and start retaining your best employees:

1. Stop Subgrouping

Subgrouping is just a fancy term for gossiping. The more gossiping that you allow from your employees, the more negative the work environment will become. While it can be nearly impossible to stop your employees from subgrouping 100 percent of the time, you can make it clear that it won’t be tolerated. If you’re guilty of gossiping, be a role model and start keeping your opinions to yourself. And remember: You should never talk about one employee to another if you hope to have employees who trust you.

2. Play

Who says that your business has to be all work and no play? Have fun at work and your employees will do the same. Encourage light-heartedness among your employees and allow them to have good-natured fun while they are working. Establish a bring-your-pet-to-work day, hold casual Tuesdays or flip-flop Fridays. There are dozens of ways to create fun in the workplace; get creative.

3. Turn Me into We

As a manager, your goal should be to build your employees up, not tear them down. Your employees should share in your successes and you should share in their failures. No one in your company, including yourself, should have a “me” attitude. If you hope to instill a cooperative, team mentality in your employees, you must consider yourself to be part of the team and to lead by example.

4. Solutions, Not Scapegoats

It’s important for you to realize that everyone makes mistakes and that it’s the rare mistake that can’t be fixed. Instead of pointing fingers when you realize that something has gone wrong, look for solutions to the problem and set about making it right. If an employee comes to you with a mistake that they’ve made, thank him or her for their honesty and help them correct the error.

5. Offer Incentives

If you want to keep great employees, you need to offer them incentives to stay with your company. You don’t have to offer thousand dollar Christmas bonuses; you simply have to make working for your company worthwhile. Whether you give your employees a paid day off for a job well done, a gift card for the local diner or a simple, heartfelt “thank you”, small tokens of your appreciation will show your employees that you value their contributions to the company.

A business that develops and maintains a positive culture will retain more employees than the average company. Almost every person has a desire to be appreciated. One of the best ways to show that you appreciate your employees is to provide them with a place that they enjoy being in for eight hours out of their day.

Joan Andersen writes for business and education blogs. Several schools offer online EMBA programs.