Gallup has released its annual State of the Global Workplace survey-based report, which presents strong evidence that decreasing the number of disengaged workers drives positive outcomes within organizations.
The report states that the majority of the world’s employees struggle at work and in life, ‘with direct consequences for organizational productivity’ and therefore overall business resilience. Gallup estimates that ‘low employee engagement costs the global economy US$8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP’.
Globally, only 34% of employees reported that they were ‘thriving’, a decline from 35% in last year’s report. The under 35 age group reported the steepest decline in this area.
Managers are the group of employees with the lowest levels of wellbeing. ‘Managers have more negative daily experiences than non-managers and are more likely to be looking for a new job’, says the report. Managers are more likely to be stressed, angry, sad, and lonely than non-managers.
Enhancing employees’ engagement with work and their organizations is a route to improving wellbeing; and managers are a key to this. ‘When managers are engaged, employees are more likely to be engaged,’ says the report. ‘In best-practice organizations, three-fourths of managers and seven in 10 non-managers are engaged,’ and there is a direct correlation between engaged employees and a host of improved organizational outcomes, ‘including profit, retention rates, and customer service’.
