Recently, there’s been a lot of discussion about the overwhelmed employee, as well as organizations’ failure to really engage their workforce. According to Gallup research, only 13 per cent of employees worldwide feel engaged in their job. Bersin by Deloitte showed that a 78 per cent of business and learning leaders consider engagement an urgent or important issue. This poses a significant risk to organisations when it comes to attracting and retaining talent. It got me thinking about where we’ve gone wrong.
Today, we’re expected to invest more time and brain power in our professions than ever before. Skill requirements and the nature of work have changed, just as our own expectations have. Employees now want to identify with their work and feel passionate about it. To me, engagement means that you’re intrinsically motivated, believe in what your company is doing and are prepared to go that extra mile because you care, not just because of the pay check at the end of the month. But how many of us are really being fulfilled?