Exploring The Connection between Employee Engagement and Wellbeing
I am called to share some data and insights that I gained at Gallup at Work’s Summit in June 2022 which allowed me to further explore the compelling link between employee engagement and wellbeing.
While Gallup has been a leader in defining and measuring engagement, it was encouraging to see the topic of wellbeing rise to the top. Wellbeing is no longer seen just as a benefit, slipped into your compensation package, but is a clear expectation - a factor for employees to join and stay at companies, making it an imperative for CHRO’s, leaders and managers. In a nutshell, wellbeing as a key ingredient for engagement was called out, evidence of how employee wellbeing impacts engagement was shared, and practical ways to improve employee wellbeing was discussed in almost every session I attended.
Gallup Data and Insights
To set the stage on engagement which is well documented:
Globally 21% of employees were engaged in 2021 (this is up by 1 percentage point compared to 2020, but below the 2019 peak).
Low engagement costs the global economy US$7.8 trillion and accounts for 11% of GDP globally. Analysis of 112,312 business units in 96 countries found a strong link between engagement and performance outcomes such as retention, productivity, safety, and profitability.
Business units with engaged workers have a 23% higher profit compared with business units with miserable workers.
On the wellbeing front, several learnings to consider further:
Gallup categorizes people into 3 categories of wellbeing:
Thriving - people with positive views of their present life and of the next five years.
Struggling - people who struggle in their present life and have uncertain or negative views of the future.
Suffering - people who report their lives are miserable and have negative views of the future.
Additionally, Gallup has identified 5 elements of wellbeing that people need, in order to be thriving, and that are in their control:
Career Wellbeing - you like what you do every day - this is considered the foundation of all other elements of wellbeing.
Social Wellbeing - you have meaningful friendships in your life.
Financial Wellbeing - you manage your money well.
Physical Wellbeing - you have energy to get things done.
Community Wellbeing - you have engagement in the area you live.
Globally 33% of employees were thriving in their overall wellbeing in 2021 (this is up 1 percentage point from 2020).
Globally only 9% of employees were in the thriving and engaged category, while the majority (57%) of the world’s employees were neither engaged nor thriving.
Gallup also shared how wellbeing influences life at work:
Employees who are engaged at work but not thriving have a 61% higher likelihood of ongoing burnout, a 48% higher likelihood of daily stress, a 66% higher likelihood of daily worry, and 2x the rate of daily sadness and anger than those who are engaged and thriving.
Teams with thriving workers see significantly lower absenteeism, turnover, and accidents and on the other hand, higher customer loyalty.
The arrangement is also reciprocal – employee engagement is the single biggest driver of career wellbeing.
From interviews of CHRO’s, wellbeing is clearly being seen as a necessity:
84% of CHRO’s when interviewed indicated they see their investment in wellbeing initiatives increasing.
68% of CHRO’s indicated they want to build manager capability for improving employee wellbeing. 72% indicated they have provided training for managers about available wellbeing resources at their organization, and 49% have trained managers on having conversations with employees about their wellbeing.
41% of CHRO’s indicated social wellbeing is being addressed at their organization.
For more information, please refer to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 report
Given my own work, the conference naturally sparked a number of insights for me.
These include:
Integration - The report and speakers at the conference pointed to the need for organizations to recognize the full person, and the whole life of the person, not just their work. From employee surveys conducted, the second most documented attribute that attracted potential candidates to new jobs included better work/life balance and personal wellbeing. As I see it, this is really the case for integration. Integrating all that is important to an employee, not just one’s work, builds employee engagement and wellbeing.
Developing a Coaching Culture - The role of the manager has always been highlighted as central to the retention of employees. Gallup makes the point to develop leaders as better listeners, coaches and collaborators, who help nurture and inspire their employees to play to their strengths, recognizing them for their contributions, and treating them with respect and care.
The definition of wellbeing was also talked about more as “day to day” wellbeing, being more human at work, rather than big programmatic initiatives. Managers checking in, connecting with their people, and asking them how they are doing in both “life and work” is all it takes. It is no surprise that when people feel seen and heard regularly, they are more engaged. Developing a coaching culture where managers/leaders are trained to coach their employees, rather than “command and control” cultures, paves the way for employee engagement and wellbeing to rise.
As you consider this combination of information and insight, perhaps it is an invitation to think about your role at work, and how you create a culture of wellbeing that drives engagement for your people and yourself? After all, caring for employees is only possible if you start with a foundation of wellbeing for yourself.
I would love to hear your insights on any of the themes that resonate with you. Feel free to send an email to lalita@invitingintegration.com if you would like to share with me.