Happy employees are better equipped to handle workplace
relationships, stress, and change, according to the latest national
Gallup Management Journal survey. Companies that
understand this, and help employees improve their well-being, can
boost their productivity.
The GMJ surveyed U.S. employees to probe their
perceptions of how happiness and well-being affect their job
performance. Gallup researchers examined employee responses to see
which factors differed most strongly among engaged employees (27%
of respondents) and those who were not engaged (59%) or actively
disengaged (14%). (See sidebar "The Three Types of Employees.")
Previous Gallup research -- as well as results from this survey
-- show that supervisors play a crucial role in worker well-being
and engagement. When respondents were asked to respond to the
statement "My supervisor focuses on my strengths or positive
characteristics," 77% of engaged workers strongly agreed with the
statement. Just 23% of not-engaged and a scant 4% of actively
disengaged workers strongly agreed that their supervisor focused on
their strengths or positive characteristics. Interestingly, not one
engaged worker disagreed with this statement.
When survey respondents were asked how they would characterize
their interactions with their coworkers, 86% of engaged employees
said their interactions with coworkers were always positive or
mostly positive. The findings for less engaged workers showed
significantly different results: 72% of not-engaged workers
characterized these interactions as always or mostly positive,
compared to just 45% of actively disengaged workers.
These findings indicate that a positive relationship with the
supervisor has an important effect on engagement. These findings
also suggest that people with higher levels of job engagement enjoy
substantially more positive interactions with their coworkers than
do their less engaged counterparts.
Feeling challenged?
When American employees were asked how often they feel
challenged at work, a majority of engaged workers (61%) said they
feel challenged very often, while 35% said they sometimes feel
challenged. In contrast, just 49% of not-engaged and 24% of
actively disengaged workers indicated that they very often feel
challenged at work; 39% of not-engaged workers and 42% of actively
disengaged workers sometimes feel challenged. It appears that while
most American workers do perceive their jobs as being at least
somewhat challenging, engaged employees lead the way in this
respect.
But if most workers do feel challenged sometimes or very often
at work, is that good or bad? To plumb this issue further,
respondents were also asked how often they feel frustrated at work.
Here, the differences were even more striking. Almost 4 in 10
engaged employees (39%) indicated that they rarely or never feel
frustrated at work, while only 13% very often feel frustrated. In
contrast, 6 in 10 actively disengaged workers and 26% of
not-engaged employees said they very often feel frustrated. These
responses suggest that while engaged workers do feel
challenged at work, they view these challenges in a much more
positive light than do less engaged workers.
The GMJ also wanted to find out if workers' feelings of
self-worth had an effect on their engagement. They do. When asked
how difficult it would be for their employer to replace them, 54%
of disengaged employees said it would be extremely or somewhat
difficult for their employer to replace them, compared to 76% of
engaged employees. Engaged workers also felt significantly more
secure at their workplaces: 54% of engaged workers felt more secure
at work than they did a year ago, but only 36% of not-engaged
workers and just 18% of actively disengaged workers agreed that
they felt more secure at work than they did a year ago.
Taking stress home
To probe the connection between happiness at work and happiness
outside the office, the survey asked respondents how much happiness
they experience at work. The contrast in responses given by workers
in each engagement group was quite noticeable. A clear majority of
engaged workers -- 86% -- said they very often felt happy while at
work. Among low-engagement respondents, only 11% of actively
disengaged and 48% of not-engaged employees stated that they, too,
were very often happy at work.
In response to the question "How much of the happiness you
experience overall would you say comes from your work life?," 45%
of engaged employees said they get a great deal of their overall
happiness from their work life, compared to just 19% of not-engaged
and 8% of actively disengaged employees. These findings suggest
that while most workers experience varying degrees of happiness and
well-being at work, engaged workers get the most from these
feelings.
Not surprisingly, engaged workers also reported higher levels of
overall life satisfaction. Five in 10 engaged workers (53%)
strongly agreed that they had gotten the important things they want
in their lives, compared to just 13% of actively disengaged
workers; and 44% of engaged employees strongly agreed that the
conditions of their lives were excellent, in contrast to just 9% of
actively disengaged workers.
Negative feelings at work also seem to spill over into actively
disengaged workers' home lives. The survey asked respondents if
they had three or more days in the past month when work stress
caused them to behave poorly with friends or family members. More
than half (54%) of actively disengaged workers and 31% of
not-engaged workers answered yes to this question, while just 17%
of engaged workers answered yes. These results are similar to those
reported in previous surveys. (See "Engagement Keeps the Doctor
Away" and "Bringing Work Problems Home" in the "See Also" area on
this page.)
The results of the GMJ Employee Engagement Index survey
show a strong relationship between worker happiness and workplace
engagement. Happy and engaged employees are much more likely to
have a positive relationship with their boss, are better equipped
to handle new challenges and changes, feel they are more valued by
their employers, handle stress more effectively, and are much more
satisfied with their lives.
Results of this survey are based on nationally representative
samples of about 1,000 employed adults aged 18 and older.
Interviews were conducted by telephone October 2000-May 2005 by The
Gallup Organization. For results based on samples of this size, one
can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling
and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage
points. For findings based on subgroups, the sampling error would
be greater.
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
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