Employee Engagement Statistics You Need to Know in 2022

Because of COVID-19, 2021 has remained a difficult year for many employees throughout the world. What influence has the ongoing epidemic, remote working, and “The Great Resignation” had on employee engagement?

As we glance at the 12 employee engagement data we obtained for this post, we’ll define employee engagement, explain why it’s important, and quickly discuss some of the elements that influence employee engagement.

What Is Employee Engagement ?

EngageForSuccess.com, a non-profit organization that encourages employee engagement, offers a thorough description of employee engagement.

Employee engagement is defined as “a workplace approach that results in the right conditions for all members of an organization to give their best every day, committed to their organization’s goals and values, motivated to achieve organizational goals and objectives, with an enhanced sense of their own well-being,” according to the authors.

Kevin Kruse, author of Great Leaders Have No Rules, writes for Forbes.com that employee engagement is not the same as employee satisfaction. Kruse contends that an employee might be content yet still be unproductive. Employee engagement isn’t just about employee contentment, according to him, because an employee might be satisfied yet not go the extra mile.

Employee engagement may be characterised as a condition in which an employee is emotionally involved in their organization, based on the information presented above. This indicates that the employee is concerned about the company’s success, will defend it if it is challenged, and is enthusiastic about their work. This refers to “your people’s dedication to the company and its aims.”

Employees that are engaged will strive to exceed goals, work hard to keep strong connections with coworkers, and are eager to help new employees get up to speed. Employees that are engaged are willing to embrace change and propose solutions to problems. They become the individuals on whom your business depends.

Why Is Employee Engagement So Important?

Employee engagement leads to employees who are more engaged to their employment, will perform their best even when the boss isn’t looking, and are eager to go above and beyond. This is why, according to Kruse, “engaged people lead to greater corporate outcomes.”

Several more research and polls from renowned institutions, such as the Harvard Business Review and the American analytics and consultancy firm Gallup, back up the good outcomes of high employee engagement.

“71 percent of the respondents [ranked] employee engagement as highly crucial to attaining overall business success,” according to the Harvard Corporate Review Analytic Services poll of more than 500 business leaders. This means that organisations with engaged staff are more likely to be competitive.

According to Gallup, “highly engaged business units’ activities result in 21 percent more profitability.” Employees who are engaged are less likely to leave, according to the same study. In high turnover firms, “higher levels of engagement business units achieve 59 percent less turnover” and “24 percent less turnover” in low turnover organisations, according to the report.

Bamboohr.com, a provider of HR software for small and medium enterprises, believes that motivated employees are more likely to stay in jobs longer and contribute to the success of the company. “Employees who feel engaged have demonstrated to be not only more productive and happy in their work function, but also more loyal to the firm and more eager to contribute to overall corporate success,” the report said. Employees that are emotionally involved in a company’s success are also more likely to deliver excellent customer service, have higher morale, and take fewer vacation days. This leads to increased sales, profit, and shareholder satisfaction.

What Influences Employee Engagement?

The perspectives and figures above demonstrate the importance of employee engagement, but what aspects can employers consider when trying to increase employee engagement? Here are a few examples:

1. The Corporation

The way employees engage with a business is influenced by its culture. As a result, a key question to be asked about the company is if it has a culture of involvement. This entails examining the policies that govern employee motivation, respect, and empowerment. Additionally, the business must ensure that employees understand the firm’s goals and the role they may play in achieving these goals.

2. The Manager

Managers have a critical influence in deciding whether or not workers are devoted to the businesses for which they work. Managers must model behaviours and abilities that motivate workers to go the additional mile in order to play a constructive impact.

It will be difficult to build the strong relationships that are necessary for highly engaged teams if the manager is not qualified for the position. Managers that make sure employees understand what is expected of them and offer the tools they need are more likely to be involved workers.

3. Process

Every corporation must design systems that make the employee’s entire life span with the company as seamless as possible in order to foster employee engagement. Workers are more willing to be motivated when an organization’s onboarding process is smooth.

If there are mechanisms in place for sharing knowledge, having resources available, and learning and development, employees are more likely to be enthusiastic. These procedures should also make it clear what is required to advance in the firm. Flexibility is another key aspect, especially at this period of Covid-19. Apart from employee health programmes, it is critical to guarantee that talent is adequately paid for their efforts. People are less likely to be involved if they perceive their organization does not value them.

Statistics on Employee Engagement

It’s simple to make claims about how employee engagement benefits your business, but what does the data say?

We discovered 2 employee engagement numbers that we feel every manager in 2020 should be aware of.

1. Just around 20% of employees throughout the world are actively engaged.

Gallup found that “20 percent of employees are engaged at work” in its State of the Global Workplace study.

Despite the fact that the Gallup study depicts a bleak image, other groups who examine participation levels throughout the world find greater levels of interest. This might be because some companies only view disengagement as active disengagement.

For example, according to Kincentric, an employee engagement solution supplier, 65 percent of employees are engaged. Kincentric, on the other hand, solely gathers information from its customers.

2. In 2021, the level of engagement in the United States reached a new high.

Gallup claims that the largest proportion of employee involvement has been recorded in the United States is 36 percent in 2021, the highest since it began collecting employee engagement.

Even though they are not the major drivers of employee engagement, Gallup attributed increased levels of engagement in the United States to an improving economy and employee perks.

3. Latin America has the most active citizens.

Employee engagement is strongest in Latin America, according to data collected by Kincentric from its clients from the second half of 2019 through the first quarter of 2020.

4.  Regional Employee Engagement

The Middle East North Africa (MENA) area comes in second for the rest of the globe, with 72 percent. Following Asia Pacific, North America, and Sub-Saharan Africa, with 71 percent, 72 percent, and 62 percent, respectively.

Of course, it’s crucial to interpret these figures with caution because the elements that influence employee engagement vary based on the environment and culture of the location. These figures, on the other hand, give an indication of global patterns in various regions.

5. Europe is the continent with the least levels of engagement.

Aon Plc, a worldwide professional services corporation listed on the New York Stock Exchange, assessed more than “five million workers at more than 1,000 firms throughout the world” in 2017. According to this study, Europe has the poorest levels of participation in the world, at 60%.

6. Employee Engagement Is Increasing

In general, the Aon data reveals that the proportion of engaged employees has been rising over time, from 59 percent in 2011 to 65 percent in 2017. Kincentric anticipates a 68 percent engagement rate by March 2020.

7. Actively Disengaged Employees Are Declining.

 According to Gallup, actively disengaged employees are “those who have awful work experiences and convey their discontent to their colleagues.” Gallup found that the lowest proportion of non managerial employees in 2019 was 13 percent, based on data obtained from a random selection of 4,700 employees in the United States.

8. Employee Engagement: The Top 3 Companies

The top firms in terms of engagement in 2019 were announced by Great Place to Work, a company that helps businesses become great places to work. The top three are as follows:

• Employees say the organisation invests in them and fosters an entrepreneurial attitude.
• Salesforce: Employees claim that the organisation backs up its words with action.
• Wegmans Food Markets Inc. is praised by its employees as a place where “employees may chase the American Dream” because to numerous innovations and learning opportunities.

9. Workers above the age of 50 are more engaged.

The Sloan Center on Aging and Work concluded in a paper titled Effects of Country and Age on Work Engagement, Job Satisfaction, and Organizational Commitment Among Employees in the United States that older people are more involved.

“The average degree of work engagement among people aged 30-39 at worksites in the United States is lower than those aged 40-49 and those aged 50+,” according to the Sloan research.

10. Women are more involved in politics than males.

“Gender diversity and employee engagement have a clear link,” according to a research published in the IOSR Journal of Business and Management. In many firms, women may not have the same chances as males, according to the same survey.

Regardless of the facts stated above, Gallup claims that women are more involved than males. Employees led by women are more committed than those led by males, according to the same survey.

11. Employee Engagement Improves Performance

Companies that have engaged personnel do better than those who do not. Gallup contrasted parts of the business with high levels of engagement against those with low levels of engagement and came to the following results. Employees who are engaged:

• 17 percent increase in productivity
• 10% increase in customer satisfaction
• 20 percent increase in sales
• Profitability will rise by 21%.
• Absenteeism is reduced by 41%.

12. Employee Disengagement Costs

According to Hrdive.com, a combined research involving 1,500 workers conducted by Sirota-Mercer, Deloitte, ROI, The Culture Works, and Consulting LLP concluded that “disengaged employees cost organisations between $450 and $550 billion a year.” According to Karlyn Borysenko of Forbes.com, a disconnected employee costs the organisation roughly 34% of their income.

Employee Engagement Statistics Faq

1. What proportion of employees are engaged at work?

According to the most current Gallup polls, 36 percent of employees in the United States are engaged at work. On the other hand, according to the 2020 poll, 54 percent of Americans are disengaged at work, with 14 percent of the workforce actively disengaged.

2. How much more productive are employees that are engaged?

Committed employees on the job site are much more productive than those who are not. Firms with happy and engaged staff are 22 percent more productive than organisations with reduced employee engagement and overall satisfaction, according to Harvard Business Review.

3. What factors influence employee engagement at work?

Employee satisfaction and pleasure at work are inextricably linked. Employees who use their abilities and strengths, trust their business’s leaders and managers, thrive on corporate success, are passionate about their work, and pursue personal and professional growth chances are more likely to engage at work, according to surveys.

4. Are engaged employees more likely to stay at their jobs?

Yes, engaged workers work longer than their disengaged counterparts. According to Gallup research, productive and committed employees are 44% more likely to stay at their present job than disengaged and uninspired ones.

5. What is the difference between an engaged employee and one that is actively disengaged?

The following are the three types of employee engagement:

• Employee who is enthusiastic. An engaged employee devotes time, attention, and enthusiasm to their job. They are excited about having things done and like the difficulties and successes that they face on a daily basis at work.

• A disgruntled employee. A disengaged employee will put in time and effort, but not much passion or excitement. These are employees who essentially do what is necessary to get by and put in no more exertion than is required.Employees that are disengaged are also less devoted to their firm and might easily be persuaded to quit for a better opportunity.

• Employees who are actively disengaged. Employees that are actively disengaged have nearly totally bad job experiences. They will not only drag their feet in order to do the bare minimum of work, but they may also make their coworkers unhappy.

Conclusion

Employee engagement is critical to the success of any organisation. Although the American workforce as a whole struggles to stay involved at work, more and more organisations are putting employee needs first in order to enhance employee engagement and, as a result, increase productivity and profitability.

According to current studies, 54 percent of the American workforce is disengaged at work. Disengagement has resulted in company failures, costing businesses thousands of dollars in lost earnings. While improvements and solutions are still being sought, the vast majority of human resources professionals—89 percent, to be exact—are now dedicated to giving continuous feedback in order to boost employee engagement.