Employee Engagement in 2024

A report from Gallup found that absent employee engagement in the workplace amounts to $1.9 trillion in lost productivity, given that only 33% of employees noted they were engaged. Gallup estimated "the dollar value of lost productivity accounted for by not engaged and actively disengaged employees" using a statistical model of how engagement affects productivity and how much economic value better-engaged employees would generate.

Employees reported feeling more lost at work in 2023, noting how they feel detached from their employers. Employees said they're less able to connect with their company's mission and feel less satisfied with how their organizations operate. A decreasing number also said people at work care about them.

Managers are also experiencing burn out too, according to Jim Harter, chief scientist of workplace and well-being at Gallup who authored the article.

Stagnant employee engagement

Compared to 2020, employees are much less likely to know what is expected of them at work, according to Gallup's analysis of over 112,000 teams and business units. Among exclusively remote employees, 47% know what their bosses expect of them in 2023 — compared to 59% in 2020. The gap was larger for hybrid workers at 54% in 2020, followed by 41% in 2023.

"When people are not clear on their roles, and how their role relates to their coworkers' roles, they are less effective in meeting customer needs and other important outcomes that leaders expect," Harter said. "Uncertainty is not a good thing when it comes to managing a workforce. Managers and executives lose credibility and employees then feel less responsible for great customer service."

Gallup reported improvements in these statistics for 2023 on the whole, though factors such as having the opportunity for workers to do what they do best and having the right materials and equipment have declined since midyear. Younger workers have seen more sizable improvements in clarity of expectations but are still below 2020 levels.

Gallup said this overall decline stems from the major restructuring of teams at many companies, additional job responsibilities due to staffing challenges, and limited training for managers to lead remote teams. This has contributed to declines in the degree of meaningful feedback, team cohesion, and resources for maintaining well-being.

Engagement has risen nearly every year between 2005 and 2020 before dipping at the pandemic's start. The percent engaged in 2023 was 33%, down a percentage point — or about 1.6 million employees — from the year's halfway point. This comes as the proportion of employees in hybrid and remote positions stabilizes, as 52% of those in remote-ready jobs work hybrid.

Scenario may be slightly different in India. How are companies coping up with the challenges in keeping the talent engaged meaningfully.

#hrinindia

@hrinindia

#hrinindia

#raghavhr

#askraghav

#hrinfluencers

#hrleaders

#humanresources

#humanresourcesmanagement

#nhrdn

#hris

#peoplematters

#ETHRWorld

#KekaHR