One step forward, two steps back

One step forward two steps back is a well trodden idiom; literally and figuratively.

According to the employee experience platform, Culture Amp , employee engagement is experiencing such a regression. It says there's been a serious shift in what employees expect and value from workplaces in recent years.

Contributing factors are plentiful; economic uncertainty, AI disruption, ongoing wars, political elections, DEI backlash and the ongoing shift towards hybrid work models.

There’s also been a deviation from long standing workplace norms prompting many employees to reevaluate expectations of employers on remote work, burnout and work-life balance. It's a conversation we're all having one way or another.

In Culture Amp's study, the biggest drop in engagement came from people feeling a lack of pride and motivation in their role and organisation. It says this could stem from...

"unfulfilled pandemic-era promises, as employees may feel that the benefits of flexibility and wellbeing are fading. As more companies have cut back on human-capital-focused resources, employees may feel less centred at work."

Engagement is an essential part of successful performance for many individuals, and in turn organisations as a whole.

August is a pertinent time to address it as summer draws to a close and offices (in person and online) begin to swell with post holiday returns. With that in mind, this week's Friday Five is dedicated to driving positive engagement and performance at a time where it's particularly lagging.

1. Regression

The afformentioned study also touches on drivers of engagement, the importance of leadership perception, and the power of positive workplace relationships. Take a read through the breakdown of the Culture Amp data here.

2. Performance

麦肯锡 has surveyed more than 1000 diverse employees on what matters most to motivate performance at work. It overwhelmingly found that performance management is most effective when it features a consistent and clearly articulated framework. It also found goal setting has most impact when the goals are measurable and are clearly linked to a company's priorities.

These fairly simple requests show clear communication is a highly valuable tool for productivity and performance. Take a read of the findings on; reviews, training and meaningful non-financial rewards here.

3. Focus

What can professional storm chasers teach the business fraternity about focus and engagement? A couple of business school academics from 英国华威大学 say that that unconventional workplace settings have much to teach those in more familiar workplaces, because employees have to adapt to extreme conditions. Ie, want water tight safety protocols? Take a look at how it's done at nuclear power plants where mistakes have dire consequences.

Apply that logic to storm chasers and these researchers found answers to the value of workplace engagement. Storm chasers need to find value in periphery tasks, keep focus during the long idle periods and juice the most of out the blood pumping moments. Take a read on applying the unconventional learnings here.

4. Lessons

While we're on the topic of learning from others, this The Australian Financial Review columnist has reluctantly taken lessons from younger colleagues recently. Here's what she thinks is "the most annoying thing about young people at work" and why they're probably right.

5. ESG

Asset management firms have continued to shift away from ESG investment despite being a key issue for a range of different stakeholders, and the rise of mandated climate reporting. BlackRock confirmed that, in the 12 months through to the end of June 2024, it supported just 4% of environmental and social proposals put forward by shareholders. Read more on the trending decline here.

That's all from us this week. Enjoy the final throws of summer - or your holidays if you're reading from somewhere sunny.

Until next time,

The Bright Space Team