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Employee engagement has different meanings to different people. Some say engaged employees means enthusiastic employees, while others believe it means happy or satisfied employees. But employee engagement doesn’t mean employee happiness; neither does it mean employee satisfaction. A happy employee will not necessarily be the most productive or hardworking employee. A satisfied employee might not go that extra mile on his/her own to achieve excellence.
Employee engagement is the emotional commitment employees have towards organizations that influences their behavior and level of effort in work. In other words, engaged employees care about their work and their organization.
Study reveals 81% of employees who do not feel engaged at the workplace would consider leaving the organization today if the right place calls. What is more staggering is, disengaged employees cost U.S. companies up to $550 billion a year.
So how do you create a work environment where employees care about your company? Following are some employee engagement activities to boost morale of your employees.
One of the best ways to level up employee morale and create a positive work environment is by providing feedback frequently. According to Forbes, 40% of employees who hardly receive any feedback from their managers are actively disengaged. And 43% of highly engaged employees receive feedback at least once a week.
Feedback culture is a workplace culture that focuses on feedback between employees and employers. It’s a culture where every employee feels they have the right to voice their opinions and their work doesn’t go unnoticed. This culture is helpful in keeping employees motivated, active, and engaged.
Engagedly is a comprehensive employee engagement software that uses a 360-degree feedback system. It allows you and your employees to provide feedback and even ask for feedback.
By recognizing your employees’ contributions you encourage them to bring out their best at work, every day.
Lack of recognition highly affects employee morale, productivity, and loyalty. A key finding of a survey, commissioned for OGO, states, 40% of employed Americans would put more energy into their work if they receive recognition more often.
Employee recognition activities engage employees in the workplace and change their behavior towards work for the benefit of the business. If they are appreciated for their efforts, they will work even harder to get that recognition.
Even a simple “thank you” can create the emotional connection your employees need to have with your organization.
Also read: Top 7 Performance Appraisal Mistakes Managers Make
Brainstorming is the most effective technique to generate new ideas.
Though these sessions are loud and chaotic, and sometimes it doesn’t give any productive results, it remains one of the best employee engagement activities.
When structured the right way, brainstorming sessions can:
Fun sessions are a massive hit when it comes to employee engagement at the workplace.
Working continuously can be exhausting for your employees. A fun session, once or twice a month, gives them a sweet break from their hectic work schedule. It helps them to start again with a fresh mind. Not only that, it also gives your employees the chance to interact with other team members.
From fun games to silly trophies to creative activities, everything is allowed in a fun session.
Also read: Employee Turnover: Know Why Employees Quit
Today’s work culture revolves around the concept of work-life balance to a great extent. However, achieving a perfect work-life balance is still a dream for most of the corporate employees around the world. When your employees’ work-life is out of balance for a long time, employee engagement plunges.
To be highly engaged in the workplace, this balance is necessary. As Blake McCammon, Founder and CEO of WorkBoxed, put it, “Work-life balance is one of the most important things employers can do to help employees not only stay healthy and fit, but keep them engaged day by day.”
Provide your employees with work from home scenarios where they can enjoy life to the fullest, but still get their work done. Most professionals benefit from a blend of office-based and remote work environments. Various studies have shown work from home Wednesdays make teams collectively more productive.
Flexible work hours are also necessary to maintain employees’ work-life balance. When employees are bound by time, they spend more time looking at the clock than being productive; it affects quality and quantity of work. Offering your employees flexible work hours keeps them satisfied, productive, and is good for their mental health.
After all, one will never feel completely satisfied by work until they are satisfied by life.
Employee engagement and productivity are closely related to each other. Engaged employees are the most productive employees, and they make it easy to do your job well. So, set some time aside, decide your budget and resources, and incorporate these five activities into your employee engagement routine; you will have a more productive and happier workforce at your company.
Want to know how Engagedly can help you create an engaged workplace? Then request for a live demo
