Your Employees Are Disconnected! How To Plug Them Back Into The Organization

Work Wellness Employers are in real trouble if they think employee engagement and wellness don’t have a connection. It’s a fact that employees report being happier and more productive when they work for organizations that have positive corporate cultures that foster well being. With the rise in Millennials in the workforce, a generation that places fun and fitness as top values, it’s time for companies to take a more holistic approach to managing lost and disconnected employees. They need to be brought back to the fold and “plugged in” again.

The current state of employee engagement

Recently, The Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM) put out its annual Employee Engagement and Satisfaction Survey, which indicates some promising trends. Around 88 percent of employees reported overall satisfaction with their current jobs, and employees have self-rated as moderately engaged. That’s encouraging, but what do they value the most? Being treated with respect, being compensated fairly, and having job security. Other factors that lead to employee satisfaction include a good balance between work and personal life, access to wellness support, and outlets for dealing with stress.

Wellness at work directly helps connect more employees

WorkWise Wellness LogoRecently, we met with Leigh McKay, the Founder and Director of Work Wise Wellness Solutions, a UK-based company that promotes sustainable wellbeing initiatives within organizations and communities around the globe. McKay, as a seasoned wellness expert, understands the need to connect employees solidly with the business directives of the companies she works closely with. Without this factor, there can be no real return on investment concerning employee engagement efforts. McKay advised that she takes a very high level approach at first, to understand what’s lacking in an organization that has caused disconnect in employees. Well-being has its roots deep in many facets of a business, and it impacts the organization at all levels. Each level must be evaluated carefully to see where the problems lay. Often, factors such as poor diversity management can contribute to below-average employee engagement. There can be breakdowns in teams based on certain cultural or language barriers that create ongoing tension among colleagues. Then there are generational differences that can alienate some employees because of very different work values and styles.

Even the efforts of companies to improve the workplace can be suspect

Some wellness initiatives may actually backfire and cause employees to go into hiding. For example, the popularity of adding standing workstations instead of sitting desks may seem like a good idea from a wellness point of view, but some employees may not be exactly thrilled with this idea. Flexible work arrangements can also pose a threat to employee engagement levels. McKay has seen several examples of companies that are having trouble maintaining the connection with employees who work remotely. These employees experience potential isolation and a sense of being disconnected from the day-to-day aspects of the companies they work for and from their peers.

How is employee engagement and wellness evolving?

wellbeing-2smlIt’s an exciting time to be involved in human resources and employee engagement monitoring. Now, it’s possible to measure engagement levels on a daily basis, not just annual snapshots, thanks to real-time employee engagement solutions. When combining workplace wellness initiatives with employee engagement metrics, one can get an accurate sense of the impact that wellness has on engagement. HR practitioners can use engagement software to spot trends when wellness programs are rolled out. They can see and ask employees what’s having the most positive impact and what may be working against the company and, importantly, take appropriate action immediately. To re-engage employees back into the company takes a concerted and combined effort between wellness and engagement teams. Executives must be mindful of both and they need to demonstrate their buy-in to make it work. The good news is that with the combination of expert wellness guidance, backed up with real-time engagement monitoring tools, it’s never been easier to adjust what works for your particular business and get those disconnected employees plugged back in.
Leigh McKayFounder of Work Wise Wellness, Leigh McKay creates value to enhance performance in companies through sustainable, targeted wellbeing initiatives. More details at Work Wise Wellness To find out how you can successfully combine work wellness with employee engagement, contact Thymometrics by email info@thymometrics.com, call +1 646 760 9323 (US) or +44 (0) 1223 750 251 (Europe) or visit thymometrics.com.
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