When engagement starts to decline, companies become vulnerable not only to a measurable drop in productivity, but also to poorer customer service and greater rates of absenteeism and turnover
Many studies have affirmed the connection between employee engagement and performance, but the Towers Watson 2012 Global Workforce Study makes the most powerful, bottom line case yet for the connection between how we feel at work and how we perform.
This new study concludes that the traditional definition of engagement – the willingness to invest discretionary effort on the job – is no longer sufficient to fuel top performance in a world of relentlessly increasing demand. The problem is that “willing” doesn’t guarantee “able.”
Engagement, as traditionally defined, is not sufficient to give employers the sustained performance lift they need – or keep employees doing their work effectively in today’s pressured and fast-paced work environment
What’s required now is something called “sustainable engagement”.
Sustainable engagement describes the intensity of employees connection to their organization, based on three core elements:
- The extent of employees discretionary effort committed to achieving work goals (being engaged)
- An environment that supports productivity in multiple ways (being enabled)
- A work experience that promotes well-being (feeling energized)
The key factor, the study finds, is a work environment that more fully energizes employees by promoting their physical, emotional and social well-being.
Top five drivers of sustainable engagement
In contrast to many of the more reward-oriented elements that affect attraction and retention, the drivers of sustainable engagement focus almost entirely on the culture and the relational aspects of the work experience.
A workplace that really works? It begins with employers and employees truly valuing and investing in one another.
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Short URL & Title:
The connection between employee engagement and performance — http://www.torbenrick.eu/t/r/bgj
