Building an Engaged Workforce: Are You Fully Engaged at Work?

Are you happy in your chosen career? Is your work aligned with your purpose, values and passions?

I love what I do as a leadership consultant and executive coach. This Thursday morning I walked into the local supermarket and the cashier tells me with a sigh it's almost Friday. I just don't have the same emotional experience in my chosen work. All days are great. I don't live for the weekends.

Similarly, I've observed that my high performing coaching clients live and work in the moment. I can feel the energy when they walk into my office. They don't create a lot of stress by creating negative thoughts about what may or not happen. They seem genuinely happy with who they are as a person and their work.

Are you more like the cashier or someone who is fully engaged in your work?

The Gallup Management Journal’s semi-annual Employee Engagement Index puts the current percentage of truly “engaged” employees at 29 percent. A majority of workers, 54 percent, fall into the “not engaged” category, while 17 percent are “actively disengaged.”

The Gallup Organization further defines these three types of employees:

1. (29%) Engaged employees work with passion and feel a profound connection to their company. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.

2. (54%) Not-engaged employees are essentially “checked out.” They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting in time—but not energy or passion—for  their work.

3. (17%) Actively disengaged employees aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.

Which type of employee are you?

Comments

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

I agree with you, Maynard. It is such a joy to do the work I love that I never know if it's a weekend or a Monday morning!

I make it a priority to enjoy my work. Unfortunately, not everything in running a business is a joy, and often I have to do what I call 'grunt work.' I'm learning how to do this without grumbling even to myself. I used to grumble and whine silently. Now I've realized that even that kind of talk to myself takes away from my enjoyment and good mood.

Nice blog and good posts!

[James Ocansey]

My attention has just been drawn to this blog and I believe it will direct some of us struggling with the very idea of blogging typical of the older generation.
It's a great idea to discuss business ideas with your spouse but what happens if she is not interested?