Employee Engagement: Uncovering the Recipe for Success in the Era of Change and Hybrid Work

Gerda Asipavičienė

The Evolution and Importance of Employee Engagement

The concept of employee engagement has come a long way since William Kahn first discussed its importance in 1990, emphasizing the impact of psychological safety in organizations. In recent years, the topic has gained significant traction, with research directly linking engagement to employee loyalty, talent attraction, and organizational performance.

Employee engagement extends beyond mere productivity—it’s a reflection of an organization’s culture and often a key determinant of its market competitiveness. In today’s world of hybrid and remote work, organizations face a complex challenge: how to foster employee engagement without corporate overreach that compromises employees’ personal lives.

Recent studies underscore the critical nature of engagement. Gallup’s 2022 research reveals that only 30% of engaged employees consider changing jobs, compared to a striking 74% of disengaged employees. Harvard Business Review (2022) reports that engaged employees not only perform better but are also less likely to experience burnout and tend to stay longer with their organizations. These findings highlight why businesses must prioritize employee engagement to grow and remain competitive in the marketplace.

Balancing Engagement and Personal Boundaries

While fostering engagement is crucial, it’s equally important to strike a balance between increasing employee motivation and respecting personal lives. Gerda Asipavičienė, a team coaching professional, highlights this challenge: “In organisations today, the question is where the line is drawn between commitment to the organisation and personal life.” It’s vital to recognize that outdated management practices pushing employees to devote all their time and energy to work are rapidly losing ground. Modern employees, particularly Millennials and Gen Z, demonstrate a stronger commitment to valuing their life outside of work compared to previous generations.

Heather Gordon-Young, who researches and implements strategies for person-centered culture in organizations, emphasizes the importance of creating the right conditions for engagement:

“Creating the conditions for engagement is about creating a supportive and safe work environment so that team members show up with confidence, ready to invest their full capacities in the task ahead. To do this they need to know that their team is behind them when they accept the risks of creating, reaching, and imagining possibilities together.”

Heather Gordon-Young also notes that engagement is not solely the responsibility of managers and leaders: “We need to understand that all the players on a team create safety together – or not. Managers must also learn to pay attention to the interactions between team members. Engagement requires employees experiencing a sense of trust, care, belonging and safety. Managers can learn to lead this.”

The Manager’s Dilemma in Fostering Engagement

Creating an engaging organizational culture presents significant challenges for both HR professionals and team leaders, especially in the context of remote work and constant change. Managers face daily dilemmas in balancing trust and demands, giving and receiving criticism, and navigating numerous other issues.

Gerda Asipavičienė sheds light on a common pitfall:

“Time frames often encourage managers to perform tasks autonomously instead of delegating. A sense of responsibility hinders the building of trust. The best-motivated effort to control the situation hinders the sharing of responsibility with the team. The result is a manager who is drowning in chaos or who is burnt out, and a passive team that waits for instructions, does not see opportunities for growth, and does not work as hard as necessary.”

To truly foster engagement, it’s essential to align stated goals with everyday behaviors, attitudes, and values.

The Positivity Paradox

While positivity is crucial for creating a supportive work environment, attracting talent, and fostering a sense of appreciation and respect, an overzealous focus on positivity can paradoxically harm employee engagement.

Heather Gordon-Young shares a personal experience with staff who were relentlessly negative that illustrates this “positivity trap”:

“When they started talking in meetings, I knew what was coming even before they began to speak. I would often default to shutting down their negativity by insisting on a more positive response – swept up by the shiny promises of positivity.”

She reflects that this approach to wielding positivity became counterproductive: “I think this story illustrates well the idea of positivity being a trap. There is no good to come of positivity that is used as a force. And this is also true of success-culture in many workplaces. Positivity is wielded as a force silently demanding intense effort, enthusiasm and achievement all while whistling while you work!”

This insistence on positivity can lead to a “panopticon effect,” where employees feel constantly observed and pressured to maintain a facade of happiness. Gordon-Young advises leaders to take a long-term view: “As leader it’s important to be conscious that you are playing a long game – not an afternoon scrimmage; building a team that can go the distance together is your goal.”

Breaking the Silence and Building Trust

The foundation of engagement lies in building trust within teams. Gerda Asipavičienė emphasizes the importance of open communication:

“Open, purposeful conversations about what is important to each team member leads to an understanding of what the whole team needs. By getting to know each other and agreeing on priorities together, team members take responsibility on their own initiative, realising the value that such commitments and agreements create for each of them and for the team as a whole.”

It’s crucial to create an environment where diverse opinions are valued, consensus is built collaboratively, and employees feel confident in expressing their thoughts and ideas. This approach not only reduces the likelihood of mistakes but ensures that employees feel heard and valued. Deloitte’s 2022 research supports this, reporting that 80% of employees feel more motivated in environments where trust prevails.

Fostering Engagement as a Long-term Success Strategy

When employees feel that they are important to the organization and that their impact and ideas are meaningful and valued, they naturally seek to maximize their potential. Creating conditions that foster people’s natural engagement contributes to job satisfaction and improved performance.

Heather Gordon-Young summarizes the multifaceted nature of engagement:

“If you created a list of things that can foster engagement – fair compensation, autonomy, growth opportunities, personal suitability for the role, work-life balance, regular feedback etc. – very few of them would be show-stoppers for engagement if they were found absent like a sense of safety. The real task, after all, is to create the conditions for people to work together to achieve the best possible outcome for the organization in which they invest their skills, passions, energy; and the best possible outcome for the people who make the organization possible.”

Investing in employee engagement is not just about immediate productivity gains; it’s a strategic action that enables organizations to adapt to constant change and ensures their long-term success. By focusing on creating an environment where employees can collaborate effectively and invest their skills and passions, organizations can build resilience and maintain a competitive edge in the evolving landscape of work.