EMOTIONAL ATTACHMENT TO THE
WORKPLACE
People for People 2012
WORKPLACE AND THE COMMUNITY

A survey of 3,841 residents of a major Canadian
metropolitan city conducted in the spring of 2012
found:
1/3 of respondents found it hard to make new friends
 Only 35% of respondents have at least one close
friend living in their neighborhood
 35% of respondents have no close friends outside
their ethnic group
 Of the barriers cited to seeing one’s close friends
more often – work, school, family obligations

COMMUNITY (ISOLATION)

50% of respondents who have lived in Canada for 5 or
fewer years say it is
hard to make friends…

44% > than 5 yrs agree
OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITY CONT’D

Isolation

25% of respondents say that “[they] find [them]self
alone more often than [they] would like to be.”


Climbs to 41% of people living in apartments; (22% of
respondents neither agree or disagree)
In the past 12 months, have you had any of your
neighbours over for dinner, BBQ or some other gettogether?

No – 73% (72% No to being invited)
OUR SENSE OF COMMUNITYCONT’D

Obstacles to getting to know others

32% - Little interest - INDIFFERENCE
PURPOSE OF COMMUNITY

33% of respondents DISAGREE with the
statement:
“If there were problems in my neighbourhood, it would be hard
to get people to work together to solve them”

52% think people in their neighbourhood trust
one another.
What does this mean for the
workplace?
Can employees care about issues
in their workplace if their interest
in “community” stops at their
front yard (or common area)?
WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT?

The amount of discretionary effort committed to
achieving work goals

Traditional Engagement – belief in and connection to

Enablement – no roadblocks, availability of resources

Energy – supportive social environment, feelings of
enthusiasm
ENGAGEMENT

The first is the level of engagement employees
have with their career or profession, and the
other is the engagement employees feel toward
their employing organisation.
ELEMENTS OF ENGAGEMENT
Opportunities to learn and grow
Progress in last six months
Coworkers committed to quality
Mission/Purpose of company
My opinions count
Encourages development
Supervisor/Someone at work cares
Recognition last seven days
Do what I do best every day
Materials and equipment
I know what is expected of me at work
10
Best friend
ENGAGEMENT AND BUSINESS PERFORMANCE
Bottom-Line Reduction
Top-Line Growth
Turnover
Turnover
%
difference
of top
quartile
from
bottom
quartile
HighLowHighLowSafety Safety
Turnover
Turnover
Turnover Turnover
Absenteeism
Incidents
Shrinkage
Absenteeism
Orgs.
Incidents
Shrinkage
Orgs
.
Orgs.
Orgs.
Customer
Productivity
Profitability
Customer
Productivity
Profitability
*
*Difference between engaged and actively disengaged employees in unexcused absences
ENGAGEMENT & PERFORMANCE:
Retention
Engaged
Employee
Customer
Satisfaction
Financial
success
ENGAGEMENT CONCERN 1:
CORRELATED OR CAUSAL?


Are firms/organizations that have more engaged
employees therefore more profitable?
Do firms/organizations that are more
profitable/successful, as a result of their success,
simply have more engaged employees?
ENGAGEMENT CONCERN 2:
WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

11% of workers worldwide are engaged

35% of the global workforce are highly engaged

46% are either stars (likely to outperform and
stay) or free agents (likely to outperform and
leave for the right or next opportunity)
RESULTS OF ONE MULTINATIONAL





Retained the support of a massive research-based
performance-management consulting company
Introduced the concept of Engagement in Aug 2004
Began measuring the engagement of employees
twice/year
Subsequent action planning and even tied to
compensation
Significant $$ and resources were invested/spent
ENGAGEMENT SCORE HISTORY
4.00
3.90
3.80
3.70
3.60
3.50
3.40
Aug-04 Feb-05 Aug-05 Feb-06 Aug-06 Feb-07 Aug-07 Feb-08 Aug-08
WHAT SHOULD THE FOCUS BE?



The only measure for employee engagement
should be PERFORMANCE (productivity,
effectiveness, efficiency).
We want commitment!
The act of committing is in itself, an act of
engagement.
A WORKPLACE WITH MEANING




How do the employees of this organization feel
about their workplace? (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AOgJjFes3iM) or
Or this one?
What are the employees feeling when they
wake up and get ready for work and how do
you measure that?
How are they contributing to the
organization?
ENGAGEMENT
Retention
Engaged
Employee
Customer
Satisfaction
Financial
success
THE MEANINGFUL WORKPLACE
Why do we
exist?
Organizational
Success
How do I
contribute
Inclusion/
Community
THE MEANINGFUL WORKPLACE
JERRY HOLTAWAY
“ …creating a meaningful workplace is about
establishing a high-order connection with
employees and then benefiting from the
compounding effect that comes from a stream of
meaningful experiences tied directly to the needs,
beliefs, interests and aspirations of employees.”
EMOTIONS AS ANCHORS
Zappos

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SMFyT2CU9No
THE MEANINGFUL WORKPLACE
1.
Ambition is the New Purpose – what are we
trying to achieve
2.
Behaviour is the New Culture – the physical
environment, policies, attitudes and behaviours,
that moment of “customer contact”
3.
Feelings are the New Values – more than
words, how do employees feel corporate values?
4.
Cascade Planning - affirmations are becoming
part of the goal setting process
THE ELEMENTS OF A MEANINGFUL
WORKPLACE

Ambition is the new purpose – when
presented in a credible, inclusive and authentic
way the company’s ambition is respected and
admired.
Our Mission: To inspire and nurture the human
spirit – one person, one cup and one
neighborhood at a time.
EMOTIONS AS ANCHORS


Behaviour is the new culture – the most
beneficial cultures are those that unite employees
around an ambition, make them feel emotionally
connected and surround them with people who
share their ambition, feelings and behaviour.
Zappos Culture book
EMOTIONS AS ANCHORS

Feelings are the new values – the way
businesses can get employees to live company
values is to never use the word “values”. Rather
it is by brining people to the company’s values
through feelings

MAKING IT HAPPEN



Macro – how the business will be evolved – how
is that plan communicated and translated?
Group – how groups of employees/departments
will be engaged
Solo – how individuals will be personally engaged
THE MEANINGFUL WORKPLACE
1.
Ambition is the New Purpose – what are we
trying to achieve
2.
Behaviour is the New Culture – the physical
environment, policies, attitudes and behaviours,
that moment of “customer contact”
3.
Feelings are the New Values – more than
words, how do employees feel corporate values?
4.
Cascade Planning - affirmations
THE PROCESS OF SELF-DISCOVERY
“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is
what makes a team work, a company work, a
society work, a civilization work”
- Vince Lombardi