“In the realm of the
dead, Sisyphus is forced to roll a block of stone against a steep hill, which
tumbles back down when he reaches the top. Then the whole process starts again,
lasting all eternity.”
Employee
engagement in the workplace is a topic of great interest to me. The emotional
connection an employee feels to the organization they work for and its goals is
vital to the personal health of the individual and the success of any company. Considering
the average American, age 25-54 with children, worked 8.8 hours a day in 2012 (Bureau of Labor Statistics), I would
strongly argue that a person who is engaged in their job positively affects
their community as well. But, why does any of this matter? As long as we make sufficient
money to support our lifestyles and achieve some degree of happiness, isn’t
that enough? A resounding “NO!” shouts every atom that makes me who I am. As a supervisor at Costco Wholesale, I have the privilege of
working directly with around forty incredibly different and wonderful people. I have
seen the outcomes of poor management (both my own and other’s) and the fruits
of servant leadership (again, both my own and other’s) within the Costco
community. Experiencing the freedom to use my talents and the empowerment
granted by upper management is a gift every employee is absolutely entitled to.
Passing that gift along to the team I manage is the finest example I can give
of why employee engagement matters so much for every single person in a
company. I believe there is immense power in realizing who we are and being
encouraged to carry out our greatest talents within an organization.
Over
the next few months I will explore what employee engagement is exactly, why it
is being examined and practiced by companies of all sizes around the world and
if it really has any bearing on the success of a company. According to the 2013
State of the American Workplace Report (Gallup),
70% of American workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” and are
emotionally disconnected from their workplaces. Another way to read this is managers
are failing to bring out the best in 70% of their employees. It is a tragedy
that we have settled for such a poor state in the workplace. My goal is to find
out how this has happened through anecdotes, supporting and opposing opinions, historical
studies and any other interesting facts in the field of employee engagement. Once
we know why we haven’t been able to fulfill our own purpose at work, we can
once again live a thriving life.
Kevin,
ReplyDeleteThis looks like a very interesting topic, one close to my heart. You are in an excellent position to pursue this given your role at Costco Wholesale. I find that "real world" engagement dramatically increases learning, and often surfaces application opportunities in a timely way. Further, I encourage you to use this blog to explore ideas that may be somewhat outside of your comfort zone. By which I mean to be willing to explore the perspective of stakeholders you might not naturally align with, as well as to go deeper into the material of a given week as a way to discover the nuances therein.
I look forward to continuing to be your blog follower!
Yours,
Stephen
Hi Kevin - What an interesting choice to dig into through your blog series. I look foward to coming back for future installments. I find the whole process of how an organizational culture gets created super fascinating, and equally so the challenge of trying to change it and the resistance you can run up against along the way. Becky
ReplyDeleteLove this kind of stuff! Much of the research I've done connects engagement with understanding and utilizing signature strengths! Let's connect during the first Intensive and talk about this? Very interesting topic!
ReplyDeleteKevin,
ReplyDeleteI had a feeling you might chose this as your blog topic based on conversations we've had in the past. I'm excited to see your next posts. Employee engagement is a complex and complicated thing. Rarely does the culture within a business work as it is designed to - it forms on its own. Happy employees are productive employees and all too often businesses forget that its the employees that makes that business what it is. As we're both managers, I know this is on our mind constantly and I personally struggle with the fine line between managing enough and being able to get my own work out the door. Again, I look forward to your future posts! Thanks!
-Emily
Kevin, I could not agree more with that resounding "NO!" I try to be careful not to let my occupation define me, but we spend so much of our time at work it seems crazy not to spend more time improving that experience. I am really looking forward to continuing this conversation and would love to hear more about flexible schedules among many other related topics.
ReplyDelete