Chances are you or someone you work with is feeling disengaged from their job and company. Almost two-thirds of US employees reported that they felt disengaged in their work, according to a Towers Watson survey. Employee disengagement is a silent productivity killer in workplaces; it not only leads to lower levels of productivity, but also high rates of turnover, leaving business owners reeling and wondering how to motivate disengaged employees. The Bureau of National Affairs claims businesses lose eleven billion dollars annually from productivity loss and turnover.
Employee engagement is largely ignored by most employers. Why? Because it’s a tough issue and it requires genuine, meaningful, and wholehearted responses — a rarity in our corporate world. Sure, there are many “band-aid” solutions touted to improve employee engagement: spending more time with managers, lunches at the Olive Garden, team-building exercises, etc. These are all well and good; however, especially when done one-off as a knee-jerk reaction, they can come off as disingenuous, mundane, and possibly painful and the problem of employee engagement continues increasing.
Employee disengagement is an emotional matter. Employees feel a lack of quality and meaningful connections to their job, colleagues, and organization. A Dale Carnegie survey of 1,500 employees found that there are certain groups of employees that are more susceptible to employee disengagement. They are:
- Aged between 31 and 49 years old.
- Highly educated with postgraduate certifications.
- Employees that are on a lower income level earning less than $50k.
- Employees who have spent less than one year in their organization.
Overcoming Disengagement — How to Motivate Disengaged Employees
Experts of employee engagement have provided many thoughtful and strategic approaches to combating workplace disengagement. At the core of all ideas is an attitude shift for employers. Employers should seek to create an environment where values, trust, and the organization’s mission will inspire, motive, engage, and compel employees in their day-to-day activities and work outlook; a multi-layered environment that speaks to employees’ professional and personal goals in work and life — this is the key to engage with employees. Understanding this notion will help employers put in place strategies to that will change employees’ engagement and drive productivity.
Say Goodbye to All Unnecessary Bureaucracy
The first step in shifting attitudes of disengaged employees is creating an environment where they are free to flourish in creativity, innovation, and engagement. Unfortunately, a barrier to this liberation often comes from too many rules, regulations, and policies that halt employees in their tracks. Company handbooks that are a million pages long, filled with procedural guidelines that outline how employees should behave in different situations, how they should dress, and even which bathroom they should use — we have all seen these before, and what a motivation killer they are! From day one employees are already injected with a sense of fear to not cross over the line. Therefore, it’s recommended to:
- Banish all but the necessary, rational, and logical rules and regulations that will cover legal requirements and ensure workplace order. That is all that is needed.
- Publish these new rules and policies for all to read.
- Gather supervisors and discuss a system of supervising that is fair and consistent with the new rules and regulations.
- If issues arise, address them on a “need to” basis with tailored solutions for the employee.
Passing over the Control
Removing the unnecessary rules and regulations also allows a certain degree of control to be put back onto the employee. Most employees want to be involved in decisions and changes that will directly affect their work. Giving back ownership of their actions will help to engage employees. It is a message from the employer that says: you are competent to handle yourself in your work every day and we trust and believe in your decisions. For employers these adjustments to the work culture will increase employee engagement. Here are some tips to consider:
- Encourage and set expectations for individuals to take control and make decisions that will improve their work.
- Reward standout individuals that do make decisions that improve their work, recognize their achievements and regard them as office role models.
- Don’t undermine or punish an employee’s thoughtful decision — instead, coach them on how to improve, provide your counsel to on what could be done differently. Destroying an employee’s confidence will only cause further disengagement.
- If an employee is continually asking for permission on their work duties, stop and think about why they feel the need to do so. Rather than giving permission, turn the question around and ask them what they think they should do.
- All employees are motivated in some aspect or another. What employers want and need is to channel this motivation towards the organization’s work priorities.
The Freedom of Choice
Engaged employees have a strong desire to work for the benefit of the organization. This desire must be a choice they have made freely unto themselves. It is not something that can be pushed, but it is something that emerges through creating a work culture and environment that compels employees to engage. Studies show that the majority of highly engaged employees all believe that they can have a positive impact upon the operations of the organization. Removing barriers, releasing control, and truly valuing employees’ input is the therapy for dissolving disengagement.
For more tips on keeping employees engaged and improving employee performance, check out our blog series on performance management.
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