Engagement

Introduction

Engagement means that your staff are enthusiastic, involved and committed to their work; it is linked with Flow (for more detail, see elsewhere in the Knowledge Base).
"...to love one's work is to be engaged, to experience such a complete sense of absorption, that action and awareness merge. When we become one with what we do it leads to optimal performance, cognitively and physically. Meaningful engaged in work not only fuels our professional achievements but also contributes to the growth of our organisation creates a sense of fulfilment that echoes across all our personal striving..."
Beata Souders, 2019

USA surveys show that around 50% of workers are neither happy or miserable at work, ie they
"...report to be satisfied and show up for work to do only the required minimum. They are not connected to their workplace and are likely to leave at the next best opportunity..."
Gallup, 2018 as quoted by Beata Souders, 2019

A more recent survey shows that engagement is low in American organisations
’’...Only about 30% of employees are truly engaged. Another 20% are miserable and spreading their misery in the workplace, and 50% are just showing up - wishing they didn't have to work at all - especially in this job…”

Gallup (2023) as quoted by Simon Kupor, 2024

Engagement is driven by better recognition and improvement in the quality of relationships and leadership.
"...70% of team engagement is attributed to the quality of leadership..."
Gallop (2018) as quoted by Beata Souders, 2019

The workplaces that have the best engagement display the following characteristics:
"...1. Provide work-life balance and support employee well-being
     2. Create environments that promote engagement
     3. Satisfy everyone's basic psychological need for autonomy, competency and relatedness..."
Ron Friedman as quoted by Beata Souders, 2019
"...work-life balance is exemplified by leaders who respect internal and individual rhythms of their employees, which in turn allows them to better control time and manage their energy. They role model, setting boundaries and giving flexibility. They promote physical wellness by offering perks and encourage self-care and do not reward those who never take time off..."
Beata Souders, 2019

Workplace architecture is designed to provide sunlight and access to nature plus
- specific activities require different types of work space, ie open plan, closed office, etc
- tall ceilings encourage creative ideas
- round table fosters collaboration

Autonomy can be accomplished through
- job crafting or design
- flexible working hours
- personalised workspace

Competency can be fostered by effective praise and appropriate on-the-job challenges like
- meaningful and personalise recognition
- opportunity to learn, mentor and teach
- time to innovate and to explore without fear of punishment when making mistakes

Relatedness is shown by high-quality relationships where you feel that you are part of the community; workplace friendships are a strong predictor of job satisfaction (Gallop).
"...being a part of cohesive and supportive team satisfies not only individual needs for blocking but also organisational needs for greater collaboration..."
Ron Friedman as quoted by Beata Souders, 2019
Even though employees can create the right environment for fostering engagement, individual efforts of employees themselves can have a significant impact.

Pillars of Engagement

(source: https://infograph.venngage.com)