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Engagement in the workplace is more important than many employers realize. It isn’t merely a matter of maximizing production from each and every employee. Disengagement, first of all, has a habit of spreading. One discontent employee can become an entire factory floor of them if the problems aren’t dealt with quickly and effectively. It’s important to understand just what one or more disengaged workers can mean for your business.
However, the bigger problems of disengagement comes down to a matter of dollars and cents for the employer.
Why is Engagement so Important?
Many people wonder what the big deal about employee engagement is. Isn’t it true that there are always going to be people who dislike their jobs? Aren’t you always going to have chronic complainers? Both of these statements are true. However, being actively disengaged is a far cry from mere job dissatisfaction. It leads to more missed days of work than the average employee and more sick days away from work as well. For employers it can mean a huge loss of productivity.
Current estimates are that there are 24.7 million actively disengaged workers in the workplace today, reports the research-based performance and management consulting firm, The Gallup Poll. Of those 24.7 million, it is believed that actively disengaged employees miss more than 85 million more days of work and 13.6 of those absent days are the result of illness.
At the end of the day, Gallup reports that “a five-percentage-point decrease in the percentage of actively disengaged employees would boost U. S. productivity by $79 billion a year.” In the United States alone, there’s an estimated annual loss of productivity of $300 billion due to disengagement. That’s a lot of money left on the table due to disengagement and that’s why it’s so vitally important for businesses to eliminate this particular problem as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Blessing White on Employee Engagement
“Employees worldwide view opportunities to apply their talents, career development and training as top drivers of job satisfaction,” according to an employee engagement report published by Blessing White, a global consulting firm that is dedicated to the purpose of aiding organizations, of all kinds, in their efforts to create sustainable yet high-performance results for their working environments. What’s more, engaged employers tend to stay at a company for what they can give. On the flip side, disengaged employees stay on board for what they get. This gives employers an exact road map to follow to keep the average employee engaged and happy within their jobs.
How do Businesses Engage Employees Better?
As mentioned above, the number one way to engage employees is to make them feel as though they are truly applying their talents. Aside from that, businesses need to invest in career training and development for employees as well as promotions from within. Employees want to feel that they can grow and continue to contribute in their jobs rather than viewing their jobs. These are other options you might want to consider to improve employee engagement within your organization including:
- Proper recognition for accomplishments
- Cost-effective incentives
- Employee input encouragement
- Listening to the input your receive from employees
These are small steps that can yield impressive results when it comes to employee engagement. Remember it doesn’t take a huge shift in engagement to generate a lot of good for the business as a whole. At the end of the day, businesses that cultivate an open discourse between management and staff often enjoy better employee engagement and save a huge amount of money in lost productivity.
What are some things you have implemented in your company to increase employee engagement?
