Fewer than two in ten European workers feel engaged at work, according to workplace data from management consultancy Gallup, less than in any other part of the world.
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report for 2022, European worker engagement is just 14%, compared to 33% in North America and 21% globally.
He also found that stress among professionals around the world has “reached an all-time high” – higher even than in 2020 – and Gallup said that “the world is closer to colonizing Mars than repairing disasters.” failing workplaces.
Unfair treatment emerges from sources of disengagement
According to Gallup, unfair treatment at work is the leading source of employee disengagement, followed by an unmanageable workload, unclear communication from managers, lack of support from managers, and unreasonable time pressures. .
The cause of this disengagement lies with leaders, who must strive to “make work more rewarding and more meaningful for their people” by prioritizing employee well-being and engagement, according to Gallup.
A manager’s impact on their workplace is so strong that Gallup predicted 70% of a team’s management metrics just by asking their boss, giving companies a clear incentive to assess their management, culture and leadership style.
“Managers need to be better listeners, coaches and collaborators. Good managers help their co-workers learn and grow, recognize their co-workers for their great work, and make them feel genuinely involved. In such environments, workers thrive,” Gallup said.
Risk of exhaustion
A March 2022 study by mental wellness platform Yerbo of more than 36,200 IT professionals found that two in five workers are at high risk of burnout.
While stress and anxiety tend to be a part of any job, they’re much more prevalent in the work lives of disengaged employees, Gallup found that 59% and 56% of disengaged employees report feeling stress and worry frequently. at work.
At the same time, 31% say they frequently feel anger at work and 33% physical pain. These numbers are 46% to 83% higher for disengaged employees than for engaged employees.
Overall impact
Disengaged employees also report that stress, worry, anger and pain often impact their personal lives. A Gallup study in Germany found that 51% of actively disengaged employees said that stress at work caused them to behave inappropriately with loved ones.
The impact of disengagement in the workplace is not limited to employees. Companies with engaged employees have 23% higher profits than companies with disengaged employees. Engaged workers are less likely to be absent from work, to leave their job or to suffer an accident at work. And tellingly, engaged workers also experience higher levels of customer retention.
Interestingly, engagement is not necessarily tied to employee satisfaction. Although employee engagement is low in Europe, the region has the second lowest percentage of employees who say they are likely to move in the next 12 months (14%), as well as the second lowest regional percentage of employees who say that corruption is widespread in companies in their country (60%).
According to the study, Europeans also feel more respected than employees in other regions.
Source: ZDNet.com