There is generally a love-hate relationship with our mobile devices – we’re always connected, but unfortunately, we’re always connected. One of the consequences of this “always-on” phenomenon is that workplace engagement is at an all-time low. According to a survey by research firm Gallup, employee engagement has reached its lowest since it began tracking this metric in 2015. Today, employee engagement in the US is only 32%.
Disengaged employees routinely underperform engaged ones, negatively affecting vital business outcomes. Workplace disengagement is a complex issue that can arise from various factors, including a lack of alignment with organizational goals, poor communication, limited growth opportunities, and unclear expectations. Human Resource (HR) leaders and professionals play a critical role in helping overcome workplace disengagement, specifically by giving employees the resources they need to achieve job satisfaction and a healthy work-life balance.
Vision Mapping
One of the many barriers to an optimal work-life balance is disorganization. A work environment will likely be disorderly and chaotic if teams don’t have solid deadlines or know what is and isn’t their responsibility, causing staff to work overtime or during their time off. A powerful technique HR can encourage their managers and team leaders to adopt is vision mapping.
The Awake Leadership guidebook defines a team vision map as a visual representation of a team’s work. Setting clear goals and outlining the path to achieving them can be a powerful tool to combat disengagement. An organizational, team, or individual vision map makes planning more effective by providing a holistic view of work, outlining individual responsibilities, expected outcomes, and overarching objectives. These maps allow managers and team leaders to delegate work fairly without overloading or underutilizing anyone, reducing ambiguity and unnecessary efforts while increasing staff engagement. Also, team vision maps help team members collaborate more effectively, as a simple glance tells them all they need to know about their coworkers’ projects.
Employees should have a clear understanding of the company’s vision, mission, and values and how they support these initiatives. This knowledge helps them align their personal goals with the organization’s objectives, fostering a sense of purpose and motivation. HR directors and company heads should encourage employees to set goals that align with the company’s vision. These goals should be challenging but attainable, offering a roadmap for progress and success.
Flexible Work Opportunities
While it may seem counterintuitive, flexible work arrangements are crucial to fostering a healthy work-life balance. Some flexible work options HR leaders can give to their businesses include remote work options and condensed workweeks, customizable schedules and days off for mental wellness. Work flexibility allows workers to complete required tasks and projects while fulfilling their personal needs, reducing stress and increasing job satisfaction.
Someone could wake up early to take a family member to the airport and elect to start their work day at 9 a.m. instead of 8 a.m., thereby finishing their work day at 6 p.m. rather than 5 p.m. Furthermore, someone could work slightly longer hours for a four-day workweek, giving themselves an extra day to focus on chores and errands. Once, these schedule compromises were unheard of – however, they are essential for workplace engagement today.
According to the Microsoft Work Trends report, Gen Z and Millennials considered leaving their jobs due to a lack of work flexibility. Similarly, working parents with young children benefit significantly from flexible work opportunities. In nearly half of two-parent families, the mother and father work full time; nevertheless, more than half of working parents say balancing work and child-rearing responsibilities is difficult. Flexible work empowers parents to find the perfect balance between work and life, leading to greater work enjoyment and engagement.
Physical and Mental Wellness
Another crucial component to helping employees achieve an ideal work-life balance (and boosting engagement) is health and wellness. HR leaders can contribute to a proper work-life balance by providing the information, tools and programs their staff needs to meet their health and wellness goals, whether through gym discounts, workplace yoga sessions, outdoor events or access to counseling and coaching.
Moreover, HR leaders can encourage participation in these wellness initiatives by finding ways to make them inexpensive and convenient. These initiatives will enhance workplace morale and productivity while decreasing burnout and turnover. It’s worth noting that if HR professionals don’t give employees the right resources, time availability and incentive to take care of their mental and physical health, workers could compromise their work-life balance to reach these goals via their own efforts.
The Many Benefits of Bolstering Employee Engagement
Leaders play a crucial role in fostering a culture of engagement and vision alignment. Lead by example by demonstrating a strong commitment to the company’s vision, communicating transparently, and supporting employees’ growth and development.
HR managers are instrumental in fostering a healthy work-life balance in a company’s culture. Their commitment to staff through vision mapping, flexible work options and wellness initiatives can help curb feelings of disengagement among the workforce. Having a more engaged staff will not only lead to better business outcomes but also serve as an effective recruitment and retention strategy, saving organizations more money in the long term.
Nicole Christopherson is a public speaker and founder of Work Hard Smile Large.