Employees who aren't engaged in their jobs are more likely to be
unhappy in their personal lives, too, according to a new Gallup
Organization study.
Gallup's latest Employee Engagement Index appears this month in
the Gallup Management Journal. Gallup found compelling
differences between employees who are engaged in their jobs (those
who identify with their work and actively promote company
objectives) and employees who aren't engaged, in their responses to
questions about their personal lives and their lives in
general.
For the most part, Americans rate satisfaction with their
personal lives highly: 78% rate their satisfaction at 4 or 5 on a
5-point scale. But engaged workers are much more likely to respond
with 5s (64%) than 4s (27%). "Not-engaged" workers (those who
aren't engaged with their work but aren't actively disenchanted)
are less likely to respond with 5s (36%) than 4s (42%). Gallup sees
the same pattern when workers are asked to rate their level of
agreement with the statements "I have gotten the important things I
want in my life" and "The conditions of my life are excellent."
Employees were also asked if there were three or more days in
the past month when the stress of work caused them to "behave
poorly" with their families or friends. Here, the big difference
occurs between "actively disengaged" workers (those who are
profoundly disconnected from their work) and everyone else. In
fact, it's alarming that just over half of those who are actively
disengaged -- 51% -- respond affirmatively to this
question. That figure drops to 29% among those who are not engaged
and further to 18% among engaged employees.
Study validated across workgroups,
industries
Until recently, the effects of employee satisfaction have been
tricky to assess because it has been tough to find a measurement
that works across a variety of industries and types of workplaces.
Gallup's Q12 -- a 12-question survey that measures
employee engagement across 12 key workplace dimensions --
removed that obstacle, having been validated across 10,885
workgroups in 23 industries.
It's admittedly tough to find underlying connections between
contentment at work and home. In some cases, workers who have
negative relationships at work -- such as with their managers
or coworkers -- also may tend to have unsatisfying personal
relationships simply because they are bad at relationships.
But considering the two key survey statements ("I have gotten
the important things I want in my life" and "The conditions of my
life are excellent."), it seems reasonable that a lack of
connection with work is dampening respondents' enthusiasm for the
broader conditions and progress of their lives. In any event,
employees who are not engaged in their roles are more likely to
register discontent with their lives in general and their personal
lives in particular.
Does home life influence work?
What about the other way around -- that is, do these data
indicate that different family conditions make employees less
likely to be engaged at work? Not really. Single and married
people, those with and without children, households with one wage
earner versus two or more -- all have similar proportions of
engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged workers. Divorced
people are slightly more likely to be actively disengaged. But
given the number of disengaged employees who say that work caused
them to behave badly with family and friends, it's possible that
work conditions may have influenced respondents' marital status,
rather than the other way around.
The finding that home-life circumstances make little difference
in engagement scores is no surprise, given that Gallup's engagement
measure is highly focused on workplace conditions. But it is useful
for managers to know that workers' perceptions of those conditions
aren't significantly colored by factors the managers can't
influence.
The Gallup Management Journal is an online journal
published monthly by The Gallup Organization. For more information,
go to http://gmj.gallup.com.
The Gallup Organization has studied human nature and behavior
for more than 70 years. Gallup employs many of the world's leading
scientists in management, economics, psychology, and sociology.
Gallup performance management systems help organizations increase
customer engagement and maximize employee productivity through
measurement tools, coursework, and strategic advisory services.
Gallup's 2,000 professionals deliver services at client
organizations, through the Web, at Gallup University's campuses,
and in 40 offices around the world.