In October 2011, the Gallup organization published a blog entitled "Majority of American Workers Not Engaged in Their Jobs". The post went on to say that their findings were from a special Gallup tracking series that started in the 4th quarter of 2010 designed to gauge the level of employee engagement in the US.
Their findings, from 3rd quarter 2011, consistent with their findings since the inception of the survey, revealed that 52% of the respondents described themselves as "Not Engaged" in their work and 29% described themselves as "Actively Disengaged". That means that 71% of the survey respondents have essentially quit their jobs ... they just haven't told anyone yet.
In all seriousness, this is a significant problem for American companies. And its significance is further supported by the January - February 2012 issue of Harvard Business Review, pictured here with a big yellow happy face that says "The Value of Happiness - How Employee Well-Being Drives Profits".
The issue is full of compelling articles about the value of happiness in the workplace citing significant research that's been done on the subject. This quote from Harvard Psychology Professor Daniel Gilbert says so much: "We know that people are happiest when they're appropriately challenged - when they're trying to achieve goals that are difficult but not out of reach. Challenges and threats are not the same thing. People blossom when challenged and wither when threatened"
I think it's clear from this quote that when we talk about employee happiness, we not talking about a "woo-woo" kind of happy where people are sitting around gazing at the stars. We're talking about a kind of happiness that leads to fully engaged employees willing to "go beyond the call of duty" or as we call it, give of their discretionary energy, to be a part of the organization's success.
If the research confirms that happy employees are more engaged, get more done, attract better people and drive better results, how can the Gallup organization be telling us that upwards of 70% of the American workforce is not engaged in their work?
The economic uncertainty we've dealt with for the past few years is likely a significant contributor to the problem. But if we stop here, we're just making excuses. Yes, it's been tough over the past few years for many organizations. And from where we sit, leaders have not been effectively leading. People at all levels in the organization have run scared, have plates that are overflowing and are nothing short of overwhelmed. This does not, however, relinquish leaders from their duty to create a culture where people are engaged and want the organization to succeed.
In this, the inaugural issue of Leveling Up, we want to layout our belief that sustainable organizations are built on the concept of creating environments where employees can and want to succeed. Leaders start with clarifying what needs to be done, aligning all employee activities to the goals of the organization and engaging each and every employee in the process of making it happen.
Effective leaders start by creating a compelling vision for the organization and laying it out through their mission and core values in a way that all employees buy-in. They work to provide a direct link between what each employee is doing and how what they do, day by day, impacts the goals and objectives of the organization.
Leaders model the organization's core values in all their engagements with employees. They engage in frequent and timely employee progress meetings and recognize the power of human potential. They enhance internal communication, particularly between managers and their direct reports and ensure that this communication focuses as much on what the employee does well as what they need to improve.
We're not suggesting that you don't address vulnerabilities or even weaknesses that are keeping the employee from succeeding in their role. We are suggesting that you focus on how they can improve and succeed rather than just on how they might be failing. When these discussions occur often, everyone is given the opportunity for "course correction" and the likelihood of improved performance increases significantly. If improved performance can't be achieved, effective leaders take the actions necessary to find the employee another seat on the bus or move the individual out of their role and ensure the right talent is brought in to take over.
Fulfilling the role of a leader is not for the faint at heart. It's challenging work but the fact is, if we have a crisis of engagement, I'm afraid we have a crisis of leadership as well.
Joy Stroud Ruhmann, President of Level Up Leadership, works with organizations to implement cultural transformation and strategy execution tools to achieve sustainable, long-lasting results. Visit www.levelupleadership.com for more information.
We may not be able to change what has happened to us thus far in life, such as our biological parents, or other factors, which have influenced us. We can't control many of the things, which happen to us in life. We can, however, control how we respond to what happens to us. Personal skills, competencies, and worth can be improved regardless of age or position. Far too often, failure is blamed on external circumstances: other people or things beyond our control. But that is rarely the case. There are just too many people who continue to overcome diverse circumstances. An old adage still remains true-if you think you can or if you think you can't, you're probably right.