Putting a Price on Workplace Dissatisfaction A Gallup study found that dissatisfied employees cost U.S. companies an estimated $1.9 trillion in lost productivity last year.
This alarming number comes as more Americans feel alienated from their employers in the aftermath of the pandemic. Gallup's engagement measure peaked in 2020 after a decade of steady rise. The turmoil of the past few years has led to lower levels of workplace satisfaction, with more employees saying they don't have clarity on what is expected of them, and this is a sign that it reduces engagement.
It's a big bet for companies because engaged employees will increase productivity, which will lead to increased sales and profits. Deeper connections with your staff will also increase employee retention.
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Jim Harter, chief scientist of workplace practices at Gallup, said motivating employees leads to “a range of outcomes that are important to organizations.”
This study highlights the dark state of America's workforce. Only a third of respondents said they were engaged in their work, and half said they were putting in minimal effort, or “quiet quitting.”
Gallup calculated the cost of lost productivity by estimating the monetary impact of disengaged employees and applying it to the labor force. The overall damage to the global economy is estimated to total $8.8 trillion, the company said.
Harter, the author of several management books, warned companies that employee engagement is about more than “doing good things for people.” Employees want to feel like what they do at work is connected to something bigger than themselves.
To improve this, Harter suggested individual weekly check-ins and guidance on how to collaborate with colleagues. When employees were taught how to collaborate with each other, role clarity rose from less than 50% to about 80%. This type of strategy is especially necessary for younger workers, as they are much more likely to change jobs in search of a better work-life balance.
“There's no question that new hires are hoping to have more coach-manager types who take their development seriously,” Harter said. “They want efforts to improve their lives, not just make them different.”
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