The good news for the labor market—more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs than they did a year ago. The bad news for corporate managers—more people are voluntarily leaving their jobs. Once you start seeing this trend, you know that employees are discouraged, disillusioned, and uninspired.
I was shocked to see a new Gallup survey show that 71 percent of workers are “not engaged” or “actively disengaged” from their work. I checked several sources including Gallup’s own web site because I was sure it had to be a typo. Seventy-one percent of employees are not engaged in their work? No wonder customer service is the pits. Employees simply don’t care!
I can see the reaction now among managers and HR professionals across corporate America: Beef up incentives and perks like gift cards and free lunches. The trouble is nobody is inspired to get up Monday morning because their job offers free soda in the vending machine. People want to be inspired. They want to work toward a higher purpose and feel good about themselves and their leader. It requires better communication, not more perks.
Earlier this year I wrote a column titled The 7 Secrets of Inspiring Leaders. Recently I’ve been invited to speak on the subject to management groups at the world’s largest companies. It’s worth revisiting. You cannot afford disengaged employees. According to Gallup, people who are “emotionally disconnected from their workplaces are less likely to be productive.” And more likely to leave.
