71 Percent of American Workers are Not Engaged in Their Work

 

I read this statistic yesterday and it blew my mind.

"Companies are facing an epidemic of employee disengagement. If not addressed, productivity is bound to suffer if it hasn't already," says Joanne Sammer, writing for BusinessFinance magazine. "A new Gallop tracking poll shows that an astounding 71 percent of U.S. workers are either 'not engaged' or 'actively disengaged' in their work. In other words, these workers are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces. Moreover, the poll, which is part of a special tracking series that has been ongoing since the fourth quarter of 2010, shows this trend toward lack of engagement has remained relatively stable throughout this year."

I have long felt that the biggest challenge faced by project leaders is getting the team engaged in the project management process. If we can successfully do that, they take ownership of their tasks, they contribute at a higher level and their performance increases. If Gallup's survey is correct, we're only able to do that with three out of every ten. I know, this statistic wasn't talking about project teams specifically, but I think ignoring this statistic because it's about the workforce generally would be a mistake.

Here's something else to consider: "Perhaps the most disturbing part of this poll is the fact that workers who should be at their peak working years are the most likely to be disengaged," writes Sammer. "The Gallop poll found that workers with at least some college education are significantly less likely to be engaged in their jobs than those with a high school diploma or less. In addition, those between the ages of 30 and 64 are more likely to be disengaged than younger workers."

This is starting to sound more like the demographic of a project team.

Sammer makes a suggestion as to how we can increase engagement (which I agree with, but think it falls short). It's number one on my list of three things we should be doing:

1. People need to understand why what they're doing is important: "The key is to provide employees with reasons and a rationale for what the company is doing and plans to do in the future." People are more likely to get on board with something when they understand the value of what they're doing. Most people want to contribute to something bigger than themselves, if we can create an environment where they feel that, they will step up and contribute at a higher level.
2. People want some autonomy over how they do their job and who they do their job with: When people understand what the objectives are and why they are important, they can actually make positive decisions about the best way to approach it. I know this flies in the face of how most project managers and organizations approach the project management process, but I think it's pretty obvious that something is broken. Too many projects fail. Too many team members could care less about it and their jobs. And too many organizations are struggling because the current system produces outcomes that are mediocre, don't work well and are boring. I've seen individuals build teams of like-minded engineers, that are empowered with a little autonomy, create and invent incredible things.
3. Recognize accomplishments: I've talked about this before within the context of the Millennial Generation, but I can't think of anyone I've ever worked with who wasn't appreciative when his or her accomplishments were recognized. Far too often the only time anyone on the team hears anything form the boss is when there's a new assignment or there's something wrong. If this is the case, I don't think there's any wonder that 70 percent of the workforce is frustrated and disengaged.

I have to admit, when I look at my team I don't see this. In fact, my entire department seems to be very engaged and performing at a high level. Much of that I attribute to the individuals I work with, but some of it is a reflection of how our boss manages the department. Do the above three drivers to team engagement really work? I see them work every day.