I don’t think any of us – manager or employee alike – could express shock at Gallup’s latest report that 71 percent of American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” at work.
I also don’t think any of us would be surprised that this isn’t an American phenomenon. A global analysis of Mercer’s What’s Working survey (30,000 employees in 17 geographic markets) shows:
For U.S.-based multinationals, these findings are concerning, as lackluster engagement is no longer just a U.S. phenomenon,” said Mindy Fox, a Senior Partner at Mercer and the firm’s U.S. Region Leader. “Widespread apathy and high turnover can be detrimental to an organization’s business performance, especially in the difficult economic environment we’re experiencing as companies are looking to drive productivity and efficiencies.”
According to Pete Foley, PhD, a Principal at Mercer and North American Employee Research Leader, “The overall employment deal is in a state of flux around the world, with employees rethinking what they want out of the employment relationship. Our research shows that, despite the ongoing economic uncertainty, more employees would consider leaving today for a better opportunity.”
So what is it employees want out of the employment deal? Employees largely understand and accept that a “job for life” as part of the employment deal is gone for good. Instead, employees are looking for:
Is employee engagement slipping in your organization? What are you or your leadership team doing about it?
You can find more from Derek Irvine on his Recognize This! blog.
