The Study on Employee Engagement surveyed nearly 2,600 workers in public, private, and not-for-profit sectors. The results showed nearly one-third of the U.S. workforce is “unengaged.” This means employees are not acting in ways that create positive customer experiences, which is detracting from organizational success, performance, and profitability. This “unengagement” costs businesses $300 billion a year in productivity losses.
The study, the largest of its kind today, was conducted by Towers Perrin’s HR Services business in August 2005 among more than 85,000 people working for large and midsize companies in 16 countries on four continents. It shows that there is a vast reserve of untapped “employee performance potential” that can drive better financial results — if companies can successfully tap into this reserve.
“For the first time ever, we’ve given a voice to the workforce worldwide,” noted Donald Lowman, a Managing Director of Towers Perrin HR Services business and a member of the firm’s Executive Council. “What we’re hearing is that people want to contribute more. But they say their leaders and supervisors unintentionally put obstacles in their paths. The insights from our study give management a very clear road map on how to remove these obstacles and unleash the full potential of the workforce to deliver superior performance.”
According to the survey, employee engagement — the measure of people’s willingness and ability to give discretionary effort at work — varies dramatically worldwide. The highest recorded levels are in Brazil (31%) and Mexico (40%). The lowest recorded levels — in the low single digits — are in the four Asian countries in the study. Across Europe and North America, engagement levels fall in between these extremes. Employee Engagement Survey continued…
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