Engaged and Disengaged Employees in the Workplace

Definition

Employees are at work, but are they actually engaged in their jobs? In October 2013, The Gallup Organization conducted a survey with 230,000 full-time and part-time workers in 142 countries which consisted of 12 questions. According to Gallup’s latest findings, 87% of workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” and are emotionally disconnected from their workplaces (O'Boyle & Harter, 2013, p. 11). Most studies have broken the various types of workers into two groups, engaged and disengaged, but Gallup’s study has broken it down even further. They have determined that there are three types of employees: engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged (O'Boyle & Harter, 2013).

A broad definition of an engaged employee means that the employee is satisfaction with their job. Job satisfaction is hard to measure because it is based on feelings, beliefs or knowledge. It is a psychological aspect which influences every employee. When people are satisfied they feel fulfilled and happy. An average adult spends most of their life at work, because of this they want that portion of their life be somewhat satisfying and pleasant (Kumar, 2013). An employee’s job performance and job satisfaction are almost synonymous. You cannot be happy in your job and be unsatisfied. There are various definitions of an engaged employee, but the main points that define what an engaged employee are: feel satisfied with their work, take pride in their organization, enjoy and believe in their work, understand the link between their job and the organization’s mission, feel valued by their employer, are fully committed to their employer and their role in the company, and exert extra effort to contribute to the business success. (SHRM,...

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SHRM Foundation Executive Briefing (2012). Employee Engagement: Your Competitive Advantage. Retrieved December 4, 2013, from http://www.shrm.org/about/foundation/products/Documents/Engagement%20Briefing-FINAL.pdf

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