Employee Engagement is very low in U.S. based companies. Gallup in their 2017 report The State of The American Workforce found that only 33% of employe are engaged at work. This is important because highly engaged employees are emotionally committed to their organization’s goals and use their discretionary effort to go the extra mile on behalf of their organization. They also found the following in their survey:

• 51% of employees are actively looking for a new job or watching for openings.
• 21% of employees strongly agree their performance in managed in a way that motivates them to do outstanding work.
• 22% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization has a clear direction for the organization.
• 15% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization makes them enthusiastic about the future.
• 13% of employees strongly agree the leadership of their organization communicates effectively with the rest of the organization.

Conversely, Gallup found that organizations who rank in the top 25% of employee engagement found:

• 41% lower absenteeism
• 54% lower turn-over
• 70% fewer safety incidents
• 58% few patient safety incident
• 40% fewer quality incidents
• 17% boost in productivity
• 20% higher sales
• 21% higher profitability

In addition, the stock prices of organizations that are part of Fortune magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For” rose an average of 14% over a period of seven years, compared to 5% for the overall market, in other words, doing well for your employees results in doing well for your stockholders.

What do employees who are not highly engaged do? They might look for work elsewhere—or perhaps even worse, stay and do the bare minimum to remain employed. There are many studies that investigate why good employees leave their jobs. These studies have consistently discovered the following reasons for employee departure:

• Lack of meaningful work
• Lack of trust and respect
• Lack of support from direct supervisors and management
• Lack of appreciation
• Constantly shifting priorities and reorganization
• Feeling ignored or micromanaged

1. Actively Disengaged – employees who are fundamentally disconnected from their job. Disengaged employees are not only unproductive, but their attitudes and perceptions spread through the company, resulting in poor performance, lowered job satisfaction and decreased productivity.
2. Not Engaged Employees – employees who simply come to work for a paycheck and complete their perceived job or functions for the company.  Day in and day out, these employees are not cheerleaders for the company or its objectives; however, they are not obstacles either.  In some instances, these employees are referred to as the “blind followers” or “sheep.” Who will they follow?
3. Actively Engaged – employees who stand out from the others.  Actively engaged employees are strongly aligned with the organization’s objectives and goals, and they care about the company’s success.  They are always looking for ways to improve the company, as well as themselves.