A new survey report on workplace conversations illustrates the correlation between communication and employee engagement, finding that employees who report that they have “great” or “excellent” work-related conversations with their immediate managers and coworkers are much more likely to be highly engaged at work.
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The survey report, The State of Miscommunication: 6 Insights on Effective Communication, was based on a survey conducted among 1,344 employees by Fierce Inc. and Quantum Workplace.
So who’s having great (or better) conversations? The survey found that about half of employees rated their conversations with managers and coworkers as great or excellent. It also found that roughly half of employees aren’t regularly speaking their mind with their managers.
“[W]hen employees understand what is expected of them, feel their opinions matter, receive helpful feedback or recognition, and can talk about their career aspirations, they are more likely to be engaged. High quality work conversations allow these topics to be covered,” explains Quantum Workplace Client Advisor Anne Maltese, in the survey report.
“Disengaged employees don’t understand how they fit into the future, how managers view their performance, or where the company is headed. It’s not surprising that those who have high quality conversations have a better connection to their teams, the work they do, and the organization as a whole,” adds Anthony Edwards, also a Quantum Workplace Client Advisor.
Other survey highlights include:
- Employees agree miscommunication happens across their workplace, but they aren’t part of the problem. More than 80% of employees indicated miscommunication occurred in their organization very frequently, frequently, or occasionally, yet only half admitted that they were directly involved in miscommunication as often.
- Survey respondents (46%) thought technology-assisted communication (email, texting, phone, etc.) was more susceptible to miscommunication than in-person communication. However, almost as many respondents (43.3%) believed both were equally susceptible.
The full survey report is available for download here.