If something engages you or your attention or interest, it keeps you interested in it and thinking about it. - Definition of Engaged Collins Dictionary

Engaged employees are psychologically committed to their work, go above and beyond their basic job expectations, and want to play a key role in fulfilling the mission of their organizations. - Engagement vs. Satisfaction among Hospital Teams, Rick Blizzard/ Gallup

Since 2000, the Gallup Organization has administered their Employee Engagement Survey to over 2.7 million employees worldwide. Gallup uses the survey to help employers better understand what their workers need to perform their best on the job. Over the years, Gallup has accumulated a massive amount of data on the link between engagement, work behaviors, and employer metrics. In the process, Gallup has identified twelve “foundational elements” of employee engagement. These are the survey items that correspond to the twelve elements:

  1. I know what is expected of me at work.

  2. I have the materials 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.

Employee engagement matters to employers because it predicts desirable work behaviors. Compared to disengaged employees, engaged employees are more reliable, hard-working,  productive, innovative, attuned to the needs of customers; observant of their employers’ processes, standards and systems, and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. The link between engagement and behavior appears to be at least partly causal, as implementing policies to increase employee engagement is associated with improved employer performance on various metrics. Check it out:

As discussed in my last post, both psychological wellbeing and engagement spring from the same basic needs: autonomy (the ability to act on goals and values), competence (feeling able and effective), and relatedness (a sense of belonging and connected to others). Look closely at Gallup’s foundational elements of engagement and you’ll see that each element addresses at least one of these basic needs. Unfortunately, some occupations and work environments are pretty unengaging, especially ones where the ability to follow rules, routines, and procedures are valued more than taking the initiative, problem-solving and independent thinking, such as some manufacturing jobs or working for an inefficient, rules-bound bureaucracy.

As it is, most US employees do not find their jobs engaging - just 36% according to a recent Gallup poll. But that turns out to be over twice as high as the global average. And US employee engagement has been rising steadily over the past decade, in contrast to what’s happening in the rest of the world, including Europe. Even in Germany employee engagement has been flat since 2001 and is now a dismal 17%, according to Gallup's 2020 survey.

So why do so many US employees find their work engaging? I’m going to guess it has to do with culture and governance but will attempt to answer this question in greater detail in a later post.

References:

“Engagement vs. Satisfaction Among Hospital Teams” by Rick Blizzard/Gallup. March 9, 2004. https://pcpci.org/sites/default/files/webinar-related/Engagement%20vs%20Satisfaction%20Gallup%20Paper.pdf 

“The Power of Gallup's Q12 Employee Engagement Survey” https://www.gallup.com/access/323333/q12-employee-engagement-survey.aspx

“U.S. Employee Engagement Holds Steady in First Half of 2021” by Jim Harter/Gallup July 29, 2021. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/352949/employee-engagement-holds-steady-first-half-2021.aspx