Unhappy Employees
If you don’t like your job, you are not alone. According to a massive report released yesterday by Gallup, the Washington, D.C.-based polling organization, there are twice as many “actively disengaged” workers in the world as there are “engaged” workers who love their jobs.
Wowzas!
Yet not overly surprising. And this lack of engagement often has very little to do with compensation.
Employers are demanding more and more out of fewer team members these days. For many, this means a direct hit to something they consider a critical piece of their being.... work-life balance..... AKA family time.
Benefits are being cut.
Budgets are being cut. Making it more difficult to offer small "perks" that can do wonders to enrich teamwork and spark both creativity and enthusiasm.
With smaller headcounts, employees are often put into roles for which they are not suited or are not interested. This is especially bad when a leader is forced into a role that they do not want. Team members can quite easily tell when their manager or supervisor does not enjoy their job. and that lack of interest/engagement impacts everyone in one way or another.
Many employees know that with limited staff and limited resources, not everything can get done.... or worse, it gets completed at around a 60-80% "done level". People can't excel and do a good job because there's not enough time to get everything done.
and, with limited time and seemingly-unlimited items to get done, things start to slip. review. oversight. quality control. compliance.
and the big 6 letter word: MORALE.
lowered morale kills engagement. which affects attitude. which impacts loyalty and discretionary performance.
It's a big ol' circular reference.
a good workplace goes down the tubes.
Bringing the Gallup poll results home to the States.......
It turns out the U.S. has some of the best numbers in the world, with 30% happy in their work, 52% feeling blah and 18% who hate their jobs. Those numbers are not what we would want but they are better than most places.
"best" ??? REALLY????
70% indifference towards our occupations. What a mess!
The survey results were primarily based on responses to these 12 questions. How would you respond?
1. I know what is expected of me at work
2. I have the material and equipment I need to do my work right.
3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.
4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.
5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.
6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.
7. At work, my opinions seem to count.
8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.
9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.
10. I have a best friend at work.
11. In the last six months, someone at work has talked to me about my progress.
12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.
Those are some great thought-provokers. how many can you honestly answer with "yes"?
Several years back, I was blessed to be a part of a GREAT employee retention and engagement program administered by Career Systems International. The group and program was based on the book LOVE 'EM OR LOSE 'EM. Investing adequate time, energy and resources to keep your team members focused, challenged and engaged is an awesome responsibility that pays GREAT rewards.
Unfortunately, too many employers today FAIL their employees and themselves something awful.
Sad.
Out for now.....
Matt
