Lack of engagement from employees is having a major affect on businesses!

Research conducted by gallup.com showed that 15% of workers in Germany are disengaged in their jobs. A more worrying report by Gallup reported only 13% of employees are actively engaged in the US. Disengagement is not as simple as saying someone is unhappy at work, disengaged employees take less pride in their work, have less loyalty to their company and take more time off, thus costing businesses billions every year! 

Disengaged workers costs the German economy 73 billion to 95 billion euros annually in lost productivity. Each day when someone is away from work in Germany it costs a business 252 Euros! Disengagement costs the US $2,246 per disengaged employee per year!

Seeing those figures should surely make any company sit up and be more aware of their employees. So why are people feeling disengaged? 

Employee disengagement is primarily driven by how supervisors - from team leaders to line managers - manage people. Given the state of employee engagement in Germany today, it's evident that most managers aren't creating environments in which employees feel motivated. 

The main reasons for disengagement as reported by staff were; 

• Stress and isolation, 
• Lack of training,
• Skills and accomplishments going unrewarded. 
• No raise or financial incentives,
• Lack of respect,
• Lack of communication within the company.
• Too many restrictions and rules. 

You might think staff leaving and moving on might be a good thing if they are disengaged. However, the cost of staff training and the fact that employees have desirable skills and knowledge, is enough reason to keep staff within your company.  If you don't take full advantage of your employees another company or competitor will! 

Word of mouth and social media all play a part on how staff express their disengagement with a company. If customers are considering a service or product, they will take recommendations from their friends, family, media and digital technology. If they are seeing negative feedback about a company that will affect their decision. 

So can companies really afford not to take employee disengagement seriously?

Does flexibility in the workplace have a big part to play in whether you take a job or not?

Giving employees the freedom to choose where and when they work, can keep them from looking elsewhere and save companies the considerable long-term costs of employee turnover.

 According to the sage journal survey conducted in America last year:

• 79% of candidates would pick the job with flexibility over one without

• 74% believe flexible working improves employee retention

• 71% think it makes employees more loyal

• 73% said flexible working lowers stress levels amongst staff

• 59% would turn down a job completely if it didn't offer flexible working

Flexible work options can reduce employee absences and turnover, both of which typically cost employers a hefty sum in lost productivity and extensive replacement costs. In fact, The Bureau of National Affairs estimates that over $11 billion is lost annually due to employee turnover.

 Would you turn down a promotion in favor of more flexible working?

Being offered a promotion is of course very flattering, but sometimes the lure of a shiny new title and more money just isn’t enough for some people. The thought of longer working hours, business travel and more stress means they would rather take a lower paid role if it means getting their work-life balance sorted.

Flexible working is more than just working from home, not only is it not an option for some job roles, but sometimes being flexible on working hours or using skype to have a meeting instead of traveling to the office can make you feel appreciated and much more willing to go that extra bit further for your employer because you know you are valued.  So its win, win. The employee is happier because they can be there for their child’s parents evening and the employer is happy because they are getting a dedicated employee who is giving 110%.

What are your thoughts? Is flexibility important to you?

check out our website for all the latest job offers www.kuborecruitment.com