Employee Engagement Linked to Productivity and Turnover

February 8, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Worker productivity increases and employee turnover decreases when employees are engaged at work, according to a recent survey by Segal/Sibson.

The survey of 1,200 workers looked at the link between employee engagement – defined by the survey as “knowing what to do at work and wanting to do the work” – and employee turnover and productivity.

Sibson divides workers into four categories in terms of their level of engagement and found that:

  • 52% of respondents know what to do and want to do it, down from 63% in 2003;
  • 11% know what to do, but do not want to do it, only 2% higher than 2003 figures;
  • 33% do not know what to do and even if they did, they would not do it, up from 23% in 2003; and
  • 5% want to do their work, but do not know what to do, an increase of only 1%.

The survey didn’t find any striking differences in engagement among respondents of different demographics, such as age, gender, race, education and tenure at the job.

The survey found a strong correlation between low engagement at work and employee turnover, while engaged workers say they are less likely to leave. Also, a high number of employees who are engaged say they are satisfied at work (84%), while only 5% of engaged employees report a low-level of satisfaction.

In terms of productivity, nearly 80% of engaged employees say they are productive more than 75% of the time, with productivity declining as the level of engagement falls.

Employees who work primarily on the computer rather than with people, are less engaged with their work.

For the full results of the survey go here .

«