WorkLife Balance & Employee Engagement

Walking into my local pizza joint recently, I was greeted by a gentleman who rapidly switched from twirling a high-flying dough disc to serving me a slice of pizza in an instant–with an enthusiastic smile. I asked him why he was in such a great mood. “I love my job…plenty of free pizza,” he responded. But I don't think it was just the free pizza. Observing other employees, it was evident that all were in good spirits. Maybe that's why that pizza parlor has a consistent flow of customers.

“A happy employee enjoys coming to work and is more productive,” says Martin Cantor, director of the Long Island Economic and Social Policy Institute at Dowling College and author of Long Island, the Global Economy and Race: The Aging of America's First Suburb, a book that addresses employee retention and the tightening job market. Cantor says a company's bottom line is being impacted not only by morale, but by how that morale enables the company to deal with competition both here at home and abroad, from skilled workforces in India, China and Europe.

“Since labor costs nearly 25 percent less in the Pacific Rim than in the New York metro area, you need greater productivity and loyalty from your employees here to meet that competition. If morale is low, employees tend to be less competitive,” says Cantor.

Recent statistics from a Gallup Management Journal report showed that only 29 percent of American workers are engaged at work. A Gallup study found that companies with high numbers of disengaged employees generally have more absenteeism and higher turnover rates, costing the American economy an estimated $350 billion per year in lost productivity. Just last year, the Conference Board formed a global working group to further study employee engagement and its apparent connection to productivity, retention, customer service and the overall financial health of a company.

A pat on the back and appreciation for a job well done, says Cantor, go a long way to engender teamwork and employee morale. “Employees who feel that their input is appreciated will think more about the job they are doing, take pride in the outcome and come forth with more ideas.” In fact, a March 2007 report released by the Society for Human Resource Management said an employee's emotional commitment to a job or company can also be a key lever to employee engagement, stating, “Employees with the highest levels of commitment perform 20 percent better and are 87 percent less likely to leave the organization.”

With so many companies on Long Island holding the line on salaries or only increasing them by nearly one percent annually, Cantor says non-cash benefits like flextime, telecommuting, daycare, family leave and other quality-of-life innovations become crucial to bolstering morale and retaining qualified employees. In a tightening job market, it might behoove Long Island companies to take a closer look at the issue, and lend a sensitive ear to the voices of their workers.

How to Engage Employees 1. Foster communication, trust and integrity among management and workers.

2. Establish policies and practices that promote a workplace culture that stimulates employee engagement.

3. Consistently communicate day-to-day organizational goals.

4. Hold managers accountable for demonstrating organizational values.

5. Take the pulse of employee engagement; what is working and what is not?

WorkLife Balance & Employee Engagement - To learn more about this author, visit Judy Martin's Website.

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