You can find many posts in Eye on the Workforce describing the importance of having workers engaged. (A few are linked below.) Not in the betrothal sense, but in the sense they are both satisfied with their jobs and committed to doing what it takes for your project success.
Now comes a new study in Current Directions in Psychological Science, reported in kitchen English here, that adds new benefits to having engaged employees.
- Engaged workers are more likely to take the initiative to change their work environment.
- They are more likely to make adjustments so a job fits their talents and interests
Two major implications:
- Engagement takes hold more strongly the more demanding a job is and
- All of this is a positive feedback loop. More engagement leads to workers making changes on their own to create a work environment where they feel even more engaged.
According to the study, you can help stimulate this feedback loop. Make sure workers have the resources they need from the job.
- Feedback
- Opportunities for autonomy and growth
- Variety in activities
You can make this happen in your project by, for example, involving workers early to identify
- Potential problems in the project - risk items for you.
- Inadequacies in templates, process steps, guidance documents or any other inputs for their work.
This notion of stimulating employee engagement is critical for IT because IT employees are some of the least engaged of any workforce and it does not have to be that way. More to come on what was learned in this study.
More from Eye on the Workforce
