“An engaged employee is not the same as a satisfied employee!”
Research recently revealed up to 68% of employees are disengaged, leaving the burden of organizational profitability and sustainability to 32% of an organization’s workforce. The degree of employee engagement can have a positive or negative effect on employee retention, productivity, and organizational commitment, and is thought to be directly correlated with the relationship they have with their direct supervisor.
The level of an employee’s job satisfaction is correlated to factors controlled by the organization such as pay, benefits, and job security. Employee engagement, however, is generally influenced by the employee's manager and is attributed to work assignments, trust, shared values, recognition, having a shared voice, and personal interactions. Three essential attributes exist to help identify an engaged employee, include: (a) the employee is inspired to do their best work, (b) willing to exceed the expected level of effort, and (c) personally motivated to help the organization succeed. Employees want to be valued and respected; they want to know their work is meaningful, and their ideas are heard. Highly engaged employees are more productive and committed to the organizations in which they work, which in turn contributes to minimizing turnover intentions.
The complexities organizations face in today's competitive environment require collaborative efforts in an attempt to maintain a motivated, engaged, and satisfied workforce. Strategies must exist that are often used interchangeably, however, job satisfaction has more to do with whether the employee is personally happy and comfortable with their current work situation. Engagement, however, is a measure of the employee’s motivation to actively advance organizational goals.
Engaged employees report feeling
positively motivated and deeply involved
in the work they do, being passionate,
having a sense of determination, and are
proactive and adaptive in ways that
develop the role as is necessary to achieve greater results. plying strategies to influence
employee engagement; this starts with employing leaders who can effectively influence
greater relationships among the team members, and between themselves and the
employee.
An organization can incur significant tangible and intangible costs as a result of low employee engagement. These costs are realized through turnover intentions and include expenses of recruiting, hiring, training, loss of productivity, employee morale, degree of customer satisfaction, reputation in the community, and unmitigated stakeholder value. A leader’s inability to maintain effective engagement strategies with their employees can cost an organization more than 34% of their payroll expenses in loss of productivity alone. When turnover is exacerbated through low engagement, the costs incurred to an organization can reach more than 250% of an employees salary.
It is understood that employee engagement increases dramatically when the work experiences of employees include developing positive relationships with their direct supervisors. The theory of Social Exchange (SET) indicates a communal relationship between the follower and the leader would result in the follower having a higher level of engagement with the organization and job; indicating leadership connectivity must be focused on relationship-oriented behaviors that foster the employee-employer bond. When a mutually equitable relationship exists between the manager and the employee, the employee feels a sense of adequate value. In turn, when an employee’s values and norms are a match to that of the supervisor and organization, relationships form, and the employee becomes more engaged.
The complexities organizations face in today's competitive environment require collaborative efforts in an attempt to maintain a motivated, engaged, and satisfied workforce. Strategies must exist thaare often used interchangeably, however, job satisfaction has more to do with whether the employee is personally happy and comfortable with their current work situation. Engagement, however, is a measure of the employee’s motivation to actively advance organizational goals. Engaged employees report feeling positively motivated and deeply involved in the work they do, being passionate, having a sense of determination, and are proactive and adaptive in ways that develop the role as is necessary to achieve greater results. plying strategies to influence employee engagement; this starts with employing leaders who can effectively influence greater relationships among the team members, and between themselves and the employee.
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