Bridging Science and Practice Employee Engagement: Bridging Science and Practice A webinar by Dr. Patrick O’Neill CAPACITY Leadership

Organizational Psychologist Founder CAPACITY Leadership Your Presenter Dr. Patrick O’Neill Organizational Psychologist Founder CAPACITY Leadership

Where do HR practitioners & managers go to answer the most pressing questions on employee engagement?

Google search yields hundreds of Employee Engagement Models...

...leads to conceptual confusion and no clear road map for action! The local bookstore... Competing frameworks & definitions Lots of advice, less evidence Widely differing claims for ROI ...leads to conceptual confusion and no clear road map for action!

“Frankly, we don’t even agree on what it is we’re attempting to change, much less how to go about changing it.” -SVP of Administration Finance Services Company

For years, theories of engagement have outpaced science... ...but science has caught up.

We now know... What engagement is and is not How to measure it What drives it Its relationship with organizational performance How to maximize it in organizations

...the average journal article is Unfortunately... ...the average journal article is read by seven people.

A mismatch between what science knows, and business does.

Distilling the truth from the myth of engagement... ...bring the science to the people!

Why the focus on engagement?

Psychological Abstracts (1967-2000) Anger: 5,584 Anxiety: 41,416 Depression: 54,040 Joy: 415 Happiness: 1,710 Life satisfaction: 2,582 Ratio: 14/1

Shifting the Pendulum “The aim of Positive Psychology is to catalyze a change in psychology from a preoccupation only with repairing the worst things in life to also building the best qualities in life.” Martin Selligman Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

Positive Organizational Scholarship What can organizations do to attract and keep creative, dedicated, and thriving employees who make organizations flourish?

The Three Pillars of Happiness Pleasure Engagement Meaning

What is Employee Engagement? Old wine in a new bottle? Getting paid less to do more? A consultant’s dream?

The Essence of Engagement... “A positive, fulfilling, work-related state of mind that is characterized by: vigour, dedication, and absorption” (Schaufeli et al., 2006) The opposite of ‘burnout’ - work exhaustion, cynicism, depersonalization “...a genuine willingness to contribute to organizational success” (Albrecht, 2010)

RESIGNED SATISFACTION HIGH ACTIVATION Excited Agitated Hostile Enthusiastic Irritated Energized Angry Happy WORKAHOLISM ENGAGEMENT Tense Pleased UNPLEASANT PLEASANT BURNOUT RESIGNED SATISFACTION Dejected Lethargic Content Fatigued Relaxed Calm Gloomy Tranquil Sad LOW ACTIVATION Russell & Carroll (1999)

The Dimensions of Engagement Vigour- high levels of energy and mental resilience while working, the willingness to invest effort in one’s work, and persistence in the face of difficulties. Dedication- strongly involved in one’s work and experience a sense of significance, enthusiasm, inspiration, pride & challenge. Absorption- a state of ‘flow’; fully concentrated and engrossed in one’s work; time stands still.

Utrecht Work Engagement Scale (UWES) Vigour At my work, I feel bursting with energy At my job, I feel strong and vigorous Dedication To me, my job is challenging I am enthusiastic about my job Absorption When I am working, I forget everything else around me I am completely immersed in my work Schaufeli et al. (2006)

What Engagement looks like...

When was the last time you felt fully engaged? Where were you? What were you doing?

How engaged are we at work? Engagement in the United States 2012 U.S. Gallup Poll

Why should we care about engagement?

Why managers should care Engaged employees... behave in more persistent ways respond proactively to emerging threats and challenges craft their roles at work adapt more readily to change - Macey et al., 2009

Why executives should care Engagement behaviours are correlated with... Better performance Lower absenteeism & turnover Higher productivity Client satisfaction Engaged colleagues - Demerouti & Cropanzano, 2010

Why shareholders should care Study by Macey et al. (2009) 65 firms in different industries completed engagement index Compared financial results for top 25% with bottom 25% What were the financial consequences?

q= the ratio of a firm’s market value to time replacement cost of its assets

Final Engagement Model Organizational outcomes Profit Low staff turnover & absenteeism Customer satisfaction Performance productivity Drivers of engagement State of engagement Engagement-driven behaviours Vigor Dedication Absorption ? Persistence Initiative Job-Crafting Adaptability Personal outcomes Job satisfaction Career progression Engaged colleagues Adapted from Fleck and Inceoglu, (2010)

What Drives Engagement?

It’s not this... +

Enabling Engagement “ People are able to achieve extraordinary accomplishments if they are able to meet their own self-fulfilling needs while pursuing the goals of the organization.” -Abraham Maslow

Person-Organization Fit Aligning personal and organizational values Fosters trust and psychological safety You can’t force fit! Kristof-Brown et al. (2005)

Harrah’s Entertainment Get Me Take the time to know me Know my aspirations Know how I learn Know what inspires me Respect and understand my strengths and opportunities Be aware of my challenges Understand how to motivate me Guide Me Show me what success looks like Provide me with coaching tools and resources for success Make the path forward clear and well lit Protect me along the way Root For Me Be my biggest fan Celebrate my success Bring me to the attention of others when I succeed Challenge me to be better than I ever thought I could be Create an environment where I can succeed Commit yourself to my development

Person-Job Fit What needs to fit? Knowledge, skills, and abilities Job demands and resources Personal resources

What makes work engaging? Job Demands Job Resources Physical Demands Feedback Mental Demands Skill Variety Emotional Demands Social Support Workload Autonomy

Job Demands/Resources Model Burnout Work Engagement HIGH Demands APATHY BOREDOM LOW LOW HIGH Resources Bakker, A.B., & Demerouti, E. (2007)

Personal Resources Positive affectivity (PA): A predisposition to experience positive emotions and self-concept Optimism, self-efficacy, resilience, extraversion Drives success in work and life, rather than the reverse (Lyubomirsky et al., 2003)

The Impact of Positive Emotions Compelling evidence linking PA to: Income Mental & physical health Longevity Job Performance Longitudinal evidence that PA engenders success in work and life, rather than the reverse. Lyubomirsky et al. (2003)

Final Engagement Model Drivers of engagement State of engagement Engagement-driven behaviours Organizational outcomes Profit Low staff turnover & absenteeism Customer satisfaction Performance productivity Person- organization fit Person-job fit Vigor Dedication Absorption Persistence Initiative Job-Crafting Adaptability Personal outcomes Job satisfaction Career progression Engaged colleagues Personal resources Adapted from Fleck and Inceoglu, (2010)

Customizing Your Model Use research-based model as a baseline Use valid and reliable measures of employee engagement, its drivers, and consequences Determine the strongest predictors and consequences for your organization Move beyond descriptive statistics to answer the “why?” of engagement Collect longitudinal data to strengthen causal inferences

ACT ON THE SURVEY RESULTS!

How can we maximize engagement?

Enhancing P-O Fit Choose goals and values that engage Involve employees! Measure values congruence Values defined & measured in behavioural terms Distinguish espoused vs. actual values “How important are these values to your organization?” “How much importance do you place on these values?” Select people who share your values Facilitate values fit through induction, training, “socialization”

Job Enrichment Focus on job resources: Autonomy- Give employees discretion over how they perform tasks and time for personal development Support- Provide opportunities to build social networks (informal gatherings, team projects) Feedback- Catch staff doing something right! Skill variety- Provide opportunities for job expansion & rotation Why it works: Reduces the impact of job demands on strain Helps to set and meet challenging, meaningful work goals Stimulates personal growth, learning & development

Positive Interventions Over 200 “happiness” initiatives tested Randomly assigned, placebo controlled studies Well-being can be taught Lasting increases in well-being (positive emotions, engagement, meaning)

What Works? Gratitude list Identify and leverage “signature strengths” VIA strengths survey (www.viasurvey.org) Acts of kindness Mindfulness meditation

Why They Work Create a self-perpetuating upward spiral A double-edged sword - enhance employee well-being while creating a climate of engagement (group cohesion, team spirit, loyalty, pro-social behaviour)

Coaching for engagement Focus on integrating personal and organizational goals Recognize and leverage employee strengths Celebrate accomplishments Provide support & opportunities for recovery

Questions?

References