Only 1 in 9 people feel engaged at work

An unsettling survey by Gallup has shown that just 9% of UK employees are engaged or enthusiastic about their work, putting us 33rd out of 38 European countries.

Gallop CEO Jon Clifton introduces the report by highlighting the fact that departments with engaged workers enjoy 23% higher profits than those with workers who feel “miserable”. In his foreword he goes on to say that “teams with thriving workers see significantly lower absenteeism, turnover and accidents.”

Commenting on the survey, Gallup’s managing partner for EMEA, Pa Sinyan, says: “Leaders can improve employee engagement and wellbeing by enabling frontline managers to understand their people better.”

Meanwhile, another report has shown that company culture has suffered in almost two-thirds of UK businesses as a result of high staff turnover. In the same study, 22% of organisations interviewed reported issues between team members because a ‘toxic culture’ had developed.

None of this is news to anyone who understands the intrinsic relationship between culture and talent retention. Furthermore, it is no secret to company directors that staff attrition costs businesses money. These reports demonstrate how costly high employee turnover can be to company culture. In fact, high staff turnover can lead to a vicious cycle as poor company culture results in more people leaving.

In an effort to leave things on a positive note, I would like to draw your attention to an excellent podcast hosted by the Harvard Business Review and featuring Rachel Spivey, of Google’s Stay & Thrive team, and Kate Tyler, a manager at Shell. In it, the interviewees share their approaches to staff engagement and retention and some lessons they have picked up along the way. You can listen to the podcast here.