American workers increasingly feel detached from their jobs and are seeking new job opportunities at the highest rate in ten years while reporting record-low levels of satisfaction with their employers.
This has led to a phenomenon Gallup refers to as the Great Detachment in which employees feel stuck because they are unable to make a job change due to a cooling job market, difficult economy and rising inflation. This can translate into lower productivity and resistance to change.
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Employee indifference at work has been fueled by a few trends over the past five years, the most impactful of which has been rapid organizational change that most companies experienced during the pandemic and post-pandemic period, according to Gallup. This has led to disruptions in work schedules, difficulty with communication and coordination, emotional distance and a mismatch between what employees expect at work and what employers can offer.
Two critical elements of employee engagement in particular have diminished over the past few years, coinciding with increasing feelings of detachment, said Gallup. These are clarity of expectations at work and feeling connected to the company’s mission and purpose.
“The most fundamental aspect of employees’ performance and development at work is knowing what is expected of them,” said Gallup. “Without clear expectations, there is no agreed-upon standard for success.”
Less than half of employees today say they know what is expected of them at work, a sentiment that is even more pronounced for younger workers and new hybrid employees.
Leaders should set clear expectations collaboratively with employees and align goals with team objectives, said Gallup. These expectations should be regularly discussed and considered alongside workload and wellbeing.
Building a connection to the organization’s mission also is important, said Gallup.
“People want to know their work matters and that their employer makes a difference in the world,” the firm said
However, employee connection to company mission dropped to an all-time low of 30% earlier this year. To turn this trend around, leaders should focus on communicating an inspiring vision and showing employees why their effort makes a difference.
Addressing these two elements of engagement can not only re-engage employees but also fuel business performance, said Gallup. Improving clarity of expectations from today’s levels to best-practice levels can lead to a 9% increase in profitability and an 11% improvement in work quality. Improving the connection between employees’ jobs and the mission or purpose of their organization can lead to a 32% reduction in turnover and a 15% improvement in productivity, the firm said.
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