Massachusetts Workers Don’t Care Enough—Gallup Workplace Poll

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

GoLocalWorcester News Team

Smile like you mean it: more than 50% of the Massachusetts workforce is not engaged on the job, according to new research from Gallup.

How engaged are Massachusetts workers? Not as engaged as one might think, according to the latest poll from Gallup, released yesterday in its 2013 State of the American Workplace Report.

According to the polling powerhouse, Bay State workers rank #33 in the nation for overall engagement in the workplace, meaning that they are involved and enthusiastic about their work. While 17.9% of MA workers are defined as "actively engaged," and 29.2% are defined as engaged, more than half the state's workers--52.9%--are not engaged at all.

Maine has the highest engagement in the New England states, ranking #19, followed by Massachusetts. Trailing are Connecticut at #41, Rhode Island at #46, New Hampshire at #48, and Vermont at #50. (The inclusion of the District of Columbia in the ranking puts Minnesota at the very bottom of this year's engagement ranking, at #51.

The state with the most engaged workers for 2013? Louisiana, with 37% engaged and 15.9% actively engaged, followed by Oklahoma at #2, South Dakota at #3, and Georgia and Arkansas following up at #4 and #5, respectively.

What defines engagement in the workplace?

Gallup's employee engagement index -- which categorizes workers as engaged, not engaged, or actively disengaged -- is based on worker responses to 12 workplace elements with proven linkages to performance outcomes, including productivity, customer service, quality, retention, safety, and profit.

"Engaged employees are involved in and enthusiastic about their work," according to Gallup researchers. "Those who are not engaged are satisfied with their workplaces, but are not emotionally connected to them -- and these employees are less likely to put in discretionary effort. The actively disengaged workers are emotionally disconnected from their work and workplace and jeopardize the performance of their teams."

Engaged in Central Mass?

Walter Thomas, owner of Thomas Auto Body in Worcester, agreed with the definition and the importance of worker engagement. "But the hardest thing to do is to get 10 people who are equally engaged," he said. Thomas, who has run his family's longtime local business since 1980, would call about half of his 11 employees truly engaged. "They are always looking to do better, make the company more successful," he said. Some who aren't engaged, he said, "might fall asleep right on the job."

Where does engagement come from--is it inate or can it be taught? Ivette Olmeda, Program Manager at the Center for Women and Enterprise, Central Massachusetts office, said the center coaches small business owners on how to retain employees and create engagement. "I call it strengthening your core," Olmeda said. "We need to engage employees, as we cannot afford to lose them."

"You have to find a way to put that seed of passion and inspiration about the mission in your employees," she said. "If they feel the passion, now they're motivated."

Gallup echoes Thomas's and Olmeda's stressing of engagement as a key to business success. "Research has long-proven how vital employee engagement is to organizations big and small," according to Gallup. "Engaged employees are not only more productive at work, but also have better health habits, fewer chronic illnesses, and report more hiring at their companies."

For more on the American Workplace Report, go here.

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Email to a friend Permalink

Massachusetts Workers Don’t Care Enough—Gallup Workplace Poll

What defines engagement in the workplace?

Engaged in Central Mass?

Related Articles

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.

Most Popular Articles

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast

Sign Up for the Daily Eblast