Hey, HR! Your employee engagement needs help

Employees aren’t just bored at work—they may be disengaged.

Employee engagement dropped to 30% in Q1, a quarterly 3-percentage-point decline, according to a recent Gallup report. This is the lowest engagement level reported since 2013. Ed O’Boyle, a global practice leader at Gallup, said a lack of clarity around job responsibilities, as well as a perceived mismatch between the company’s mission and employees’ contributions, may be contributing to disengagement.

“People don’t see what they’re doing today as being something bigger and helping the cause of their organizations,” he said, adding that HR should aim to demonstrate the connection between employees’ daily work and the company’s future.

Another factor that may be contributing to disengagement: A lack of transparency. O’Boyle said a lack of understanding of how leadership is thinking about the future can contribute to employees’ disengagement.

Admitting to employees that leadership doesn’t know something—such as how AI will impact their business—but that they’re learning and experimenting can increase transparency and, therefore, engagement, he noted.

He said HR pros can tell employees, “Here are the things that are going to remain true about us, our culture, our values…and here are some things that are in play.”

“When people understand that, they know how they can fit into that,” he said. “It lowers their stress and worry, and makes them more energetic towards the change.”