Engagement among some employees hits a record low

By Nicole Martin | February 1, 2022

Nicole Martin: We use UMap to bridge personal and professional goals at HRBOOST® and it surely embodies our leadership intention to coach, build and support our talent internally as they vision the future of work with us. Yes, we practice what we preach.
This article from Become Unmistakable is worth sharing.

For the first year in more than a decade, the percentage of engaged workers in the U.S. declined in 2021

Managers are among the least engaged
Upskilling and investing in their development is essential to retaining managers
Clear and frequent communication from leadership is key for managers to keep team morale high

Gallup: U.S. Employee Engagement Drops for First Year in a Decade

BY JIM HARTER

STORY HIGHLIGHTS

Employee engagement had been steady at 36% during the first half of 2021
Managers and healthcare workers had the steepest declines in engagement
Boosting engagement requires a focus on the fundamentals

For the first year in more than a decade, the percentage of engaged workers in the U.S. declined in 2021. Just over one-third of employees (34%) were engaged, and 16% were actively disengaged in their work and workplace, based on a random sample of 57,022 full- and part-time employees throughout the year. This compares with 36% engaged and 14% actively disengaged in 2020, a year with unprecedented highs and lows.

…

The ratio of engaged to actively disengaged workers in the U.S. is 2.1 to 1, down from 2.6 to 1 in 2020.

Gallup measures employee engagement by asking random samples of the working population about specific workplace elements that link to many organizational outcomes, including profitability, productivity, customer service, retention, safety and overall wellbeing.

These elements include clarity of expectations, opportunities for development and opinions counting at work. In short, engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. Actively disengaged employees are disgruntled and disloyal because most of their workplace needs are unmet.

…

Additional Findings and Implications

Organizations have lost sight of the basics.
Managers and healthcare workers are less engaged.
Many organizations had more engaged employees in 2021. Not all organizations experienced declining engagement in 2021.

…