Profiles of Employee Engagement

This continues our series on Employee Engagement by Jenna Reed.

There is so much buzz about employee engagement, so let’s break it down in to something we all can understand.  In general, employee engagement is a positive attitude held by employees towards the organization and its values.  An engaged employee is aware of business context, and works with colleagues to improve performance within the job for the benefit of the organization (Institute for Employment Studies).   As Jennifer Robison wrote in her article, Engagement, Wellbeing and the Downturn, for the Gallup Management Journal, “Workplace engagement is the core of the unwritten social contract between employers and employees.” That sums it up nicely.

When examining engagement employees typically fit into one of three categories:

• Engaged -  “Employees work with a passion and feel a profound connection to their company.  They drive innovation and move the organization forward.[i]”  They give 100% of the discretionary effort to work.
• Partially Engaged - These employees may be satisfied with their job, but are just putting in time – not energy or passion.  They may be retired on the job.
• Disengaged - These employees are more than just unhappy.  They’re acting on their unhappiness and undermining the work of others.

Where do your employees fit? How do you know?  If you want more than an educated guess and actual information on what things might be eroding employee engagement, it’s probably time for you to conduct an Employee Engagement Survey.

Jenna

[i] Robison, Jennifer,  Engagement, Wellbeing and the Downturn, Gallup Management Journal, August 2010