According to Gallup, employee engagement has dropped to a new low in the first quarter of 2024… only 30% of employees are engaged. 70% are disengaged.
Gallup found “U.S. employees were increasingly detached from their employers, with the workforce reporting less role clarity, lower satisfaction with their organizations, and less connection to their organization’s mission or purpose.”
That’s disheartening and just plain sad.
And it does not have to be this way.
In our book, “The Great Engagement” we explore what is behind this. We offer the following insight into disengagement: In all the writing and surveys, the opposite of employee engagement is usually identified as “disengagement.” If we take a deeper look at what underlies disengagement, however, we believe that its root more accurately lies in resignation. The dictionary defines resignation as “an accepting, unresisting attitude, state, etc.; submission; acquiescence: to meet one’s fate with resignation.”
Disengaged employees are people who want to make a difference but are resigned to the fact they cannot.
Statistically, the Great Resignation ended last year, but it does not feel that way for many organizations as the work of finding and keeping great teammates remains a significant challenge.
There is an invaluable lesson to be learned from the last several years: When people feel resigned, if they have a choice, they will resign.
Disengaged employees have resigned without telling you. They continue to collect paychecks but do not feel a connection to your organization's purpose. This is like having someone on your football team that does not like football!
Resignation, and therefore disengagement, is fostered by the combination of meaningless work and powerlessness. This premise leads us to a simple formula for engagement:
Engagement = Aspiration + Empowerment
Aspiration is about individuals connecting their own sense of purpose and personal vision to their work. It is not about the company's mission statement on the wall, but rather employees seeing how their job aligns with their own values, plays to their strengths, and helps them reach their goals. When people find genuine meaning and fulfillment in what they do, motivation and commitment soar.
Empowerment is equipping people with the authority, support, and psychological safety to perform at their best. It is ensuring they have the tools, resources, and decision-making power to succeed.
It's a wonderful virtuous cycle:
When you multiply aspiration and empowerment, the result is a workforce that is both willing and able to go above and beyond. They find joy and meaning in their work, unleash discretionary effort, and serve as brand ambassadors. They have pride in their work.
These are some of the cultural attributes that executives of top performing organizations strive for. Organizations with exceptional cultures have significantly better engagement... according to Gallup, these exceptional organizations have a 70% engagement rate with their employees. That is the exact opposite of the average U.S. organization where only 30% of employees are engaged! This proves it is possible to create an extraordinary culture.
If you want to increase employee engagement:
develop your ability to foster aspirational purpose in your people and
learn to empower them; to unleash them to be their best.
Although our Engagement formula is simple, making it happen and living it is extraordinarily complex. If you would like some help, our book “The Great Engagement” provides practical, hands-on ideas and exercises to promote engagement.
But don’t take our word for it.
“A practical and effective guide for leadership in the twenty-first century.”
~ Chad Newton,
CEO of Detroit Metropolitan Airport (DTW), ranked by
J.D. Power as #1 in customer satisfaction for mega airports
Or, if you are interested in exploring a more hands on, guided approach, with results we guarantee, contact us, we would love to help.
“Partnering with Tom and Brad exceeded my expectations… The work we did enabled us to grow tenfold over the last five years, and we now have a significantly better team as a result.”
~ Rashod Johnson,
CEO of Ardmore Roderick