You Want Engaged Employees ‒ Start With Engaging Workplaces And Jobs
- Brainz Magazine
- Mar 6, 2023
- 5 min read
Written by: Nad Philips, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
I developed a training program for a large company where we would train young new hires from onboarding starting positions till, they reach the first level of management, a span of some 5 years.
The initial high scores of “engagement”, “motivation”, and “satisfaction” during onboarding will be divided by a factor of two by the time they got into the 2nd training 18 months later. Naturally, we asked each cohort and their managers why we see a systematic drop in those metrics.
We got 2 different sets of answers:
First, the managers said that it was normal for the new hires who came directly out of school with utopic ideas and had to face the harsh realities and they needed to toughen up; after all this is the business world. They also said the new hires had to learn the way things were done in the company and accept it before trying to change things around; first, they have to pay their dues and follow the different rights of passage planned for them if they wanted to climb the corporate ladder.
Second, the answer from the new hires was unequivocally attributed to poor management or even the absence of management altogether. They also complained about the level of prescriptive tasks and their little discretionary power. It appeared they were both right; there is a little bit of truth in both perspectives. Let’s examine what is needed from the managerial side (the culture, the quality of the workplace environment, the job scope) and the requirements from the managee’s point of view.
1. The managee
I am a great believer in the philosophy of Albert Camus whereby it is up to each one of us to make sense and give meaning to the world and our lives whilst it appears random and absurd. Each one of us has to make something out of ourselves. In the myth of Sisyphus, Camus advocates that Sisyphus must find solace in pushing his stone uphill to watch it crawl back down and start over again!
The work of Carol Dweck on the growth mindset is also very key to understanding the mechanism of growth and resilience. Adopting the right worldview ‒ a growth mindset ‒ is the very first step towards thriving.
Aristotle said that an unexamined life is not worth living. Adult development is a constant effort toward reaching higher levels of cognitive, socioemotional, and spiritual maturity. No one else can do it for you.
Having a purpose whether it is hedonic or eudemonic, or even if it is just being, is essential to be agentic and guide us along our journey.
However, contrary to popular beliefs; engagement is not based on willpower alone; you cannot summon it by grit, dedication or work ethic unless you have reached a high level of maturity. Likewise, intrinsic motivation is not by choice, i.e., I decided to be intrinsically motivated independent of my relationship with the task at hand and my preferences. And indeed, I cannot have my needs frustrated and decide to be satisfied come what may again unless I have achieved the detachment level of a Buddhist monk; satisfaction is the subjective outcome of expectations being met.
Am I saying that the environment is everything and that our new hires have no responsibilities for their levels of engagement, motivation, and work satisfaction?
No; I am saying that environment trumps will. So, what kind of environment do managers need to create?
2. Managers
Both the work environment and the job scope should reinforce and support the efforts of the managees that bring their competencies, preferences, and potential to the table. Elliot Jacque will say that the weight of the job should match the weight of the person holding the position.
Yes, we need to confront our new hires with tough challenges to know what they are made of and to push the envelope, but equally important is ensuring that the conditions for success are there; meaning they have access to the means and resources necessary to perform and succeed. Good management, adequate coaching, and mentoring as well as resonant leadership are part of these necessary conditions.
So, what are the terms of engagement?
By far relational: building a strong bond with the boss, peers, and direct reports. But also, my relationship (rapport) with what needs to be done. What should I do and for whom?
What are the motivational factors?
I prefer the concepts of the harmonious and obsessive passion of Bob Vallerand to the notion of grit popularized by Angela Duckworth. Why am I doing it and for whom?
Self-determination theory suggests that intrinsic motivation is best attained when the 3 fundamental needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness are met. Everything we do to perform our job should be linked to either strength, passion, or an interest to learn. What could not be linked to those 3 should be managed because potentially not motivating.
What leads to job satisfaction?
Work-life balance expectations are met. How am I doing?
What facilitates thriving?
Less prescriptive, processed work and more discretionary power.
Recognizing and valuing agency, risk-taking, experimentation, and innovation, not only final results.
Systemic thinking, management by dialogue, and authentic leadership
So how does a manager or a company create engaging workplaces and jobs?
Practice job crafting and match job size with the size of the job holder.
Facilitate self-determination and satisfy the 3 basic needs of autonomy, inclusion, and competence.
Build a prosocial and cooperative environment.
Create a learning and systemic organization and a coaching culture.
Provide individual consideration and human-centered leadership.
Give meaning and sense-making to the job mission and role.
Allow people to balance work and life.
Life satisfaction, motivation to act, work engagement, thriving, and even fulfillment are all separate constructs. We can have a variety of combinations that work well to have both high performance and well-being. Every time companies and management tried to single out one construct as the “be all” they failed. First, it was about motivation, then engagement, now it’s about thriving and soon it will be about fulfillment as long as we can latch to something that will magically cure our management and leadership shortcomings.
So managers and managees need to work out what is the best combination for the person to give his best, perform and succeed and maybe even be happy at work.
In our era of major technological advances, if we do not get the human equation right, many companies will find it easier to adopt tech as a replacement and not as an aid to people.
Get back to relationships make them prosocial!
Nad Philips, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Nad is an adult learning and development, global consultant. He specializes in helping teams design prosocial relationships and become future fit. Prior to coaching Nad served as European VP and MD France for a Fortune 500 company. He was an honorary professor with ESSEC Business school. Nad also launched several startups in Europe. He is an Amazon best-selling author and lives in Paris, France.
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