A few months ago, Gallup published a survey that shows us disengagement at work makes people depressed and sick. But what is this engagement thing, and why does its lack make us feel so lousy?
I’m suspicious of talk about “engagement”. It seems, more than anything, to get used to shift the focus of organizational problems for the organization to the individual.
As economic worries continue to frustrate both companies and the people who form them, of course people check out of work.
They’re worried themselves, and it seems most have seen some form of economic cutback at work: layoffs, pay and benefit reductions, the generally worried and belt-tightening tone of most media coverage of work. It’s difficult to pay attention to much of anything when you’re operating with mild to moderate anxiety all the time.
I’m finding this a lot as a consultant and change agent. Much of what we have to do is help people feel safe enough to even have a capacity for change. It’s not that they’re really resistant; their hope muscles are just tired.
This may not even be a problem each organization can solve – I wonder if it’s becoming another part of our culture? If so, it may be years before people really start to recover and feel safe enough to engage and create again.