Six Myths of Employee Engagement

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  1. A Flexible Work Environment Fosters Productivity: While remote work opportunities reduce the carbon footprint and avert hours wasted in traffic, more often than not companies do a poor job of looping remote workers into the day-to-day activities of the business. Unfortunately, a very typically adverse impact of remote work for the employee is out of sight, out of mind. Research shows that remote workers and workers with flex time schedules receive less coaching and mentoring and miss out on the institutional knowledge-sharing and socialization that happens in the typical course of a shared workspace.



    If money is the only mechanism to get people to stay, it leads people using money to create to bidding wars between current and future employers.

  3. Employee Independence is Necessary for Performance: One pervasive myth is that all employees need autonomy and independence, and the more hands-off that management is the better the employee will perform.The reality is that autonomy and independence are not values that everyone shares. To one employee, being left alone can be a true benefit and they may thrive when left up to their own devices. To others it is a recipe for feeling disconnected, isolated, and ignored.
  4. A Job is Just a Job: Today’s worker and human beings in general are much more evolved and present to work life fulfillment than ever before. Employees today fundamentally want and need so much more than a job for a paycheck. A striking majority of workers have said they want purpose and meaning in the work they do, and that they feel happier at work when they know that what they do matters to the success of the organization.

  6. our Company is Enough to Keep the Employee: The sixth myth is that people go to work for a company and their loyalty to the company and brand is enough to keep them engaged and retained. What has become painfully apparent over the last decade is that people don’t leave companies—they leave managers. When a good employee does not have a strong relationship with their manager, no incentive or brand loyalty will keep the employee fully engaged. People need to feel appreciated, respected, acknowledged and important; when their direct manager does not provide meaningful assignments, regular feedback and mentoring, engagement is thwarted.While all of these perceived solutions are good ideas as components of an effective employee engagement program, alone they are insufficient means to drive employee connection and engagement. When carrots like money, time off, autonomy and career path are not coupled with alignment, good people management, and ‘match fit’ those incentives wind up costing companies millions and derive little to no benefit in the long run.A well thought out, conscious employee engagement program considers who people are as individuals, and allows for customization in the approach to assigning work and giving feedback. Individualization is a 21st-century shift from the one-size-fits-all management of the 80’s.  The main component of a well-built employee engagement program includes a highly competent management team who embraces coaching and mentoring their people.



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