New global research from Globoforce and IBM discusses the ineffectiveness of workplace bureaucracy in a time of growing complexity, change, and competition—and provides insights on how organizations can “effectively get out of the way by providing the right environment and context” by dismantling bureaucracy and energizing their employees to make their workforce more adaptable and agile.
Data from the research report, The Employee Experience Around the Globe, uncovers key relationships between such human workplace practices—those “that allow employees to work in ways better suited to our core human nature”–and a positive employee experience.
IBM and Globoforce outline some of these best practices in a blog post announcing the release of the research report:
- Meaningful work, which the report identifies as the single largest contributor to a positive employee experience (27%) around the world: “Humans naturally search for meaning to help guide behavior. Understanding the “why” behind work helps to align behaviors to a shared mission and values.”
- Empowerment and voice was also a “crucial” factor, accounting for 17% of the employee experience according to the report: “Empowerment ensures that employees are active and inspired participants in the workplace. It creates an environment of shared leadership and responsibility in place of traditional command-and-control.”
- Feedback, recognition, and growth account for another 16% of the employee experience, as it “captures all aspects of performance development. As performance occurs in real time rather than through formal and infrequent processes, it expands the notion of performance far beyond the traditional appraisal and training rhythm.”
- Coworker relationships also explain 16% of the employee experience, say IBM and Globoforce. These are “the social connections that are created to get work done while creating a shared sense of community” and “are the conduit through which many of the human practices above flow.”