Employee engagement is characterized by the strength of the mental and emotional connection employees feel toward their workplace. Employee engagement has been a hot topic for a while. It has been proven that higher rates of employee engagement can help in boosting workforce management and satisfaction, which leads to enthusiasm in their role and higher employee retention for the company. This sounds like a dream for any company.
However, according to statistics released by Gallup, only 13% of worldwide employees are actually engaged. While this stat may be true, it has also been found that companies who do a good job of engaging their employees see a significant improvement in many areas, such as overall productivity. Below, we’ll discuss the eight benefits of employee engagement in greater detail:
1. Higher Employee Retention and Lower Turnover Rate
One of the benefits of employee engagement is higher employee retention, which creates a lower turnover rate. Employee engagement leads to happy employees which help workplaces retain their top staff. As it’s usually quite costly to find new hires and train them, it’s in the company’s best interest to keep their employees.
2. Higher Employee Satisfaction
Once employees become engaged, they naturally start to feel more satisfied with their role within the company. Happier employees are found to produce high-quality work which has many benefits for a workplace, including happier customers. Employees are also more likely to speak positively about their workplace, thus spreading a better message about the company and helping to create a better reputation for the brand.
In today’s day and age, reviews are so important. There are so many websites out there that ask for an employee’s evaluation of a workplace. More satisfied employees are more likely to write a positive review for the company, which can lead to the company recruiting people who actually want to work there.
3. Less Absenteeism
High employee engagement also produces some additional benefits, such as less absenteeism among the workforce. Since engaged employees feel like they are a part of the company they work for, they’re more likely to want to show up to work. When employees start to feel disengaged from the company they work for, they don’t feel a sense of responsibility to their workplace, so they don’t mind missing some workdays.
4. Higher Productivity
When employees show up to work and are motivated to do a good job for the company they work for, they have higher rates of productivity. To that point, research shows that engaged employees are 17% more productive than employees who are not engaged. It’s simple: when employees are engaged, they are naturally more interested and connected with their work which leads to them doing their job really well.
5. Better Employee Health
Believe it or not, engaged employees are also healthier! They’re less likely to be overweight and less likely to suffer from chronic diseases. It’s been found that engaged employees actually eat healthier and exercise more. There are many possible reasons for this. One reason is that engaged workplaces also go the extra mile in caring for their employees’ health! So, they’ll do things like encouraging employees to care for their health. They might do this by giving employees a discount at their local gym, offering nutrition workshops, and serving healthier food in the company cafeteria.
These companies also motivate their employees differently. For example, these types of workplaces will use things like employee recognition to motivate their employees. They may also use things like two-way meetings where both the manager and the employee get to provide feedback. With workplaces that care for their employees, staff members come out happier and experience less workplace-related stress.
6. Better Home Life
Which leads to our next point: less stress at work equals less stress at home and thus, a better home life! A study done by Kansas State found that engaged employees shared positive work experiences with their family and “perceived themselves as better able to deal with issues at home, became better companions, and became more effective overall in the home environment.” This means that engaged employees aren’t complaining about their job, aren’t as stressed, and therefore have more energy to be engaged and happy at home!
7. Higher Employee Loyalty
A workplace that is engaging and cares for their employees produces employees that are loyal to the company. This means employees likely won’t look for another job or be tempted by another job offer because they are happier and loyal to their workplace. They actually care about their work and believe they are a part of the company’s success.
8. Increased Profitability
And of course, all of this leads to increased profitability for the company. Engaged employees are working hard and feeling good. This means their interactions with customers are more likely to be positive and employees are more likely to want to satisfy their customers and leave them happy.
The bottom line? An engaged workforce is good for everyone: the employee, the company, and the customer!
