Employee Engagement: Are We Aiming to Change the World, or Create Bubbles of Comfort Zones?

This article is a part of a wider discussion and was selected from an MBA course at the University of Auckland — Managing Talent in the 21st Century (Course professor - Susan Geertshuis)

“Record-high” engagement?

Based on a 2022 Gallup report, employee engagement worldwide (Gallup defines employee engagement as the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace) reached a “record-high” of 23%.?

While that might be a record, it is a small comfort to many organisations if 8 out of 10 employees are doing their absolute average, at best. At the same time, managers and organisations are blamed for such low engagement because they have unrealistic expectations of their employees.

Manager vs Leader

Being a manager today is not enough, and many are looking for leaders. Many employees need a clear mission and purpose to be engaged, and do the work they are actually paid for. “Manager vs Leader” is a fantastic topic to discuss in lectures, where such a utopia is presented in an environment of academia. In such talks and conversations everything adds up, and every i is dotted and every t is crossed.?

However, in the real world of intricate and complex relationships between departments, organisational silos and people just being people, with personal agendas and goals, the rose-coloured glasses fall away rather abruptly.?

This is especially transparent when questions for employees such as “has the job or task been completed?” start to arise. It is then that “is one a manager or a leader” discussion slides down the importance ladder.

Welcome to the Asphalt Jungle

A “role” is no longer just a role, based on what is written in the job description, and there are many unspoken rules that are only talked about when they are broken, or, in today’s world, a tad dented.

Apart from managing different age groups, which can now be anywhere from early 20s to late 50s, the manager also needs to deal with, and be acquainted with, many different cultures and backgrounds to be an efficient communicator, motivator and a leader. This means there are many different hoops that they need to jump through, and boxes to tick, in order to satisfy all stakeholders.?

Also, with organisations having a significant reliance on different forms of technology and communication, especially during and post COVID, there is still a debate about working from the office or working from home. Many organisations are now having issues getting employees back into the workplace, and the reason why they want them back is low productivity.

This then poses a question: who is really under pressure – managers or employees, and do organisations, on average, really have unrealistic expectations that would warrant such low engagement from their employees?

The High Road or The Low Road

Changes in the markets, dubious fiscal policies and poor stewardship of governments, that are leaving future generations with a legacy of debt to repay, all place an enormous pressure on many organisations that are now simply looking to survive, let alone thrive.?

At the same time, organisations are trying to satisfy a number of demands made by certain groups of employees, while the only thing that matters, and why everyone has a job, is placed on the bottom of the pile, and that is the quality of the service provided to the customer, whoever that might be.

So, what should one do? Should one motivate or terminate?

More resilient managers might decide to change the situation by motivating employees who are not engaged and giving them more runway. However, there are two sides to that coin.

By adopting such a strategy, the manager is likely looking at alienating employees who are performing, the 2 out of 10, because in their view, the manager openly accepts low standards of work.

In a scenario, which happens often, when the manager/department/division is under pressure to deliver, and the organisation/business/region depends on it, the manager cannot simply “rally the troops” and adopt a gung ho attitude when the employees are “not interested”.?

Yet, such moments where others are in a need of assistance and help, or a product or a service, presents a crystal clear picture that defines the purpose and mission of an organisation, and its employees; the very same thing that many of the employees are looking for.

To change the world, one must change oneself

Telling others they must change is always easier than changing ourselves. That is why, instead of waiting for a leader, one must become a leader; in every aspect of their life, no matter how small and trivial things might seem. No matter how small the job might be.?

By doing that job perfectly and to the absolute best of their abilities, such individuals can inspire the person next to them, and create the wrinkle on the surface that will, over time, lead to significant changes and, quite possibly, a better world.

“It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better.?

The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

— Theodore Roosevelt, Citizenship in a Republic

"The Man In The Arena"

Speech at the Sorbonne

Paris, France

April 23, 1910