Last year, I had a viral post about some of the downfalls in employee engagement. Unfortunately, not much has changed and there are still some things around employee engagement that need to be fixed.
In the past year, not much has changed, but we have managed to do is reinvent employee surveys in order to help provide high-level management with statistics to boost employee morale. So I'm proud to say that we're making strides in the right direction to better offices across the world.
I would also like to add that you don't think that engaging employees is a big deal, you should probably checkout this employee engagement calculator that shows how much money is saved by having happy, engaged employees.
First, let us educate with some disturbing facts around employee engagement:
This infographic was crafted with love by Officevibe, the employee survey tool that helps companies improve their corporate wellness, and have a better organizational culture.
1. No Passion For Work
88% of employees don't have passion for their work.
Let's face it, there's employees that absolutely love their job and there are employees that are there just to collect checks. Passion for a job is far more important than being engaged.
So for nearly 90% of the workforce to openly admit that they don't have passion for their career kind of shows where employee engagement epidemic lies. Companies need to get a better understanding of what drives their employees and allows them to love their job.
There's a whole lot of research and science behind employee engagement and being passionate about work. Employers need to do a better job of understanding and applying some of the research in order to create better workplaces.
2. Do Managers Enjoy Their Job?
Only 20% of senior managers are passionate about their work.
Having a leader or manager that isn't passionate about their work can definitely lead to bad results, in terms of employee productivity.
The last thing a manager wants is to be considered that "horrible boss" that no one likes working for. In order to avoid this, leadership has to really dive deep into HR analytics and see what are the needs of the managers, along with the employees.
Once you create that synergy between management and employees, work becomes fun.
3. Employee Disengagement Is Costing The US Billions!
Employee Disengagement Is Costing The US $500 Billion Per Year
We talk a lot about employee engagement and its importance on company profits, and this statistics proves how important engagement truly is.
Employees that don't get the recognition and respect from managers that they deserve, will become disengaged and not want to work hard.
I put the link above the employee engagement ROI calculator, I would highly suggest you check it out and see how much money your company can save by having engaged employees.
4. So Many Distractions!
57% of interruptions at work come from either social media tools or switching between applications.
Social networks aren't a bad thing. They've done a lot for society, and we've even ventured out to say that they should be allowed in every workplace. As long as it's not taking away that much time from work, is being used to learn new things (I follow A LOT of HR and News Publications, so I go on there a couple times of days just to see what's happening and recent news + trends), and that it's being done to have some downtime.
I would recommend individuals having tools like RescueTime in order to limit their distractions and find a good workflow. It's vital to find a good balance between leisure time and work time.
5. The Government Doesn't Have Engagement Right
Employees working in government reported the lowest rate of engagement.
That's a shocking line, I hope it didn't offend anyone working for the government, but the data from recent studies show that government employees aren't engaged.
There are even books that have surfaced online that have been written to specifically help out government employees become engaged. I would highly recommend that government officials do more to make their employees happier, as it will allow for better work to be done.
6. Where's The Leadership?
86% of businesses and HR leaders believe they don't have an adequate leadership pipeline.
I think this statistic proves that there's still a lack of transparency within many workplaces across the globe. HR is basically in the front line of hiring, so when they feel that leadership is flawed, it will not allow them to do their job properly.
7. Employee Retention Is A Problem
79% believe they have a significant employee retention and engagement problem.
We've done a lot of research on employee retention and none of the statistics have proved to be good ones. As we mentioned earlier, a lot of people aren't passionate about what they do and they are considered to be disengaged employee.
So the problems still exist, and the worst part is that productivity is getting higher. So employees are naturally feeling more stressed out and wanting to leave their job for what may seem to be a better opportunity.
8. The Laws Of Hiring Attraction
75% are struggling to attract and recruiting the top people they need.
It's hard to hire and retain talent, especially if a company is not committed to improving its company culture. Companies are genuinely trying to find great talent, and it may not be that the talent isn't there, it might be that they're not a good cultural fit.
A bad hire (especially for a smaller company) can end up being devastating for morale. So start doing your best to promote your core values within your site or throughout your hiring process, so that any new hires, or people looking at your company, understand where your company is coming from, and why you guys do what you do.
9. Be Transparent With Your Company's Story
Only 17% feel they have a compelling and engaging employment brand.
We recently had a webinar where we talked about this with the folks over at Entelo. Jacob Shriar, discussed the importance of having a good brand and story around your company. The fact of the matter is, society isn't as greedy, or as money hungry as it is portrayed to be.
People want to work and feel like they have a greater purpose whenever they go into work every single day. So share the story of your office and how much you've grown in the past couple of years. Let all new hires know that your brand and your office is a great place.
10. Is Managing Performance Important?
Only 6% believe their current process for managing performance is worth the time.
This is something that we pride ourselves whenever we do research. Finding a way to manage employee performance is next on our platform's list of ideas. This has to be the way of the future, and managers have to start buying into it.
Be able to recognize your employees' strengths, weaknesses, and delegate tasks in an good enough fashion that everyone is truly working to the best of their abilities.
11. No More Overworking Employees
2/3 of today's employees feel "overwhelmed."
You often hear people say that they feel overworked and underpaid, it's mostly because they are. There's no sugar coating it.
People are given so many tasks to do regularly that high stress levels are becoming common and it's becoming the norm across all offices. I would have to blame two parties, the management for not handling things better, and the employee for being a little too shy to say no, or that they can't. I know, sometimes it's hard to say no, but if there's a hundred things to do, you have to prioritize better and let a manager know the penalties that may come with moving a task list around.
12. 40 Hour Workweeks Coming To An End?
50% of adults work more than 40 hours per week.
This is something that people across the globe are just beginning to realize. That working 40 hours a week isn't that productive. Some companies are having 4 day workweeks, there's even rumors of a 3 day workweek (which even I think is a little too crazy).
Working 40 hours isn't good for work-life balance, it isn't good for creativity, nor is it good for employee happiness. The real move would be to have people make sure they get enough sleep and work with their energy; instead of looking at the clock every minute, they'll be working faster and smarter.
13. Work Smart, Not Hard
80% would like to work fewer hours.
Well, I think this number is a little low. Even people who absolutely love their job would probably want to work fewer hours. But I get it. People feel overworked!
As I mentioned earlier, a lot of companies are squeezing the productivity and happiness out of their employees. They make them work crazy hours, or even worse, the employees becoming so infatuated with their work that they end up working longer hours.
Remember one thing, working longer hours doesn't make your more productive. So keep a fresh mind and make sure that you're working with your energy! It will benefit you as an employee and as a person.
If we can improve these 13 things, we will be able to create happier, healthier, and more productive workplaces across the globe. First thing is first, we'll do our job here at Officevibe to help managers create better workplaces and give employees a voice within their organization with our nifty employee survey tool.