The research and management consulting company Gallup has defined engaged employees as those who are involved in, enthusiastic about, and committed to their work and workplace. In contrast, a disengaged employee would be someone who isn’t excited about their work and is simply getting by fulfilling their tasks robotically. Engaged employees accounted for 21% of the global workforce in 2021. Despite this being a one-percentage-point gain from 2020, we are yet to recover to our record high of 22% in 2019.
A large factor for this decline can be attributed to the Covid-19 pandemic that has weighed on the world's workers. Employee engagement had been progressively increasing over the last decade, but the pandemic has threatened this upward trend. Leaders and HR personnel are now in charge of building new work environments that are more resilient to such global shocks and finding solutions that are more responsive to them.
Though the reasons one might not be enthusiastic about work can be plentiful, our focus should be on finding new and innovative ways to motivate employees to be productive and find joy in their workplaces. Improving employee engagement is among the top five worldwide company strategies, according to executive officers from around the world. Not only does employee engagement have a direct impact on staff retention, productivity, and loyalty, but it also has a direct impact on customer satisfaction, corporate reputation, and overall customer equity.
Purpose-Driven Activities To Help Boost Employee Engagement
According to a 2018 LinkedIn survey on workplace culture trends, 46% of employees are likely to be more engaged if they know their organization has their best interests at heart. Here are some fun on-site and online activities that can help engage your employees.
On-site Activities to Increase Employee Engagement
Monday Thematic Trivia
After a much-awaited weekend that flies by in a jiffy, employees are greeted with the infamous Monday blues. A Monday-thematic trivia could be exactly what the doctor ordered! Almost every day of our working calendar has been assigned to support or commemorate certain significant events, individuals, or communities. By quizzing your employees about such days, you will be teaching them something new and also serving the purpose of such days. Days such as earth day, AIDS awareness day, etc are good ways to support such causes and bring about general awareness.
Waste to Wealth Workshops
“One man's trash is another man's treasure” is one of the most famous idioms we have heard but how do we make our trash our treasures? As we generate more trash than we can account for, knowing how to reduce, reuse and recycle is a brilliant life skill to have. From turning yesterday’s leftovers into today’s lunch to creating planters for their office plants by recycling plastic containers, learning new skills can always perk an employee’s interest.
Stretch to relieve stress
Yoga's advantages are undeniable. Find a peaceful spot and set aside some time for employees to meditate and stretch. Employees can benefit from exercise to help them cope with stress and anxiety. They will notice a considerable increase in focus and productivity as a result. Yoga also aids in the reduction of blood pressure and cholesterol. Help your employees relieve stress while they are at work by incorporating yoga and meditation time into their routines. Healthy employees also translate to fewer leaves.
Get involved with a charity
Philanthropic acts are always welcomed by everyone. Partner with nonprofit organizations that work for the cause your employees support. This will make them want to participate in the activities too! Beach clean-up drives, volunteering at a local animal shelter, or a visit to a children’s hospital can be a good break from your employees’ routine and also help the organizations you are supporting. Offering Volunteer time off for your employees to volunteer at their leisure is also a great way to keep them engaged.
Online Activities to Increase Employee Engagement
Webinars on topics that interest employees
Whether your developer has a passion for fiction writing or your graphic designer would like to learn more about managing his finances, webinars on topics that can help your employees in their lives beyond their 9 to 5 jobs would definitely be events to look forward to. This would also mean that you as an organization acknowledge that your employees have a life beyond your office quarters.
By inviting guest speakers or Joe from IT to talk about his poems, you will be giving your employees the much-needed break they needed along with making Joe’s day by giving him an audience.
Micro virtual volunteering projects
Micro-volunteering allows you to use a small amount of free time to do good using your smartphone and the internet, as much of volunteerism has gone virtual. Employees can participate in mini-tasks during their breaks or alongside their teammates when a project is broken down into smaller segments. These activities, in fact, do not demand more than an hour or two of a volunteer's time.
Virtual volunteering is a good way to boost employee engagement while providing meaningful experiences to your employees. This will also enable you to enhance your brand reputation and increase employee retention.
Connect through a new language
If you are looking to address the diversity in your office, then this activity is a perfect way to do so. Have your employees grouped into pairs and let them teach one another a sentence or two of their native language. This will allow them to get a taste of each other's language and non-native English speakers will get a chance to flaunt their respective dialects giving them a sense of inclusion and belonging. Allow people to recite folk tales as part of cultural exchange.
Who did this?
Keep your employees on their toes, while fostering collaboration by playing "guess who did this?". Collect information about your employees on some of the work they have done in the past or something that makes them stand out and encourage your team to guess who could have done that! This activity is a great way for teammates to get to know one another and find some common ground with their coworkers they might not have met in person.
If virtual volunteering is the route you wish to take for your employee engagement programs then Chezuba is the platform for you. With more than 7000 partner nonprofits from around the globe, your employees will be able to pick the causes and skills they would like to volunteer. Book a free demo to learn more.
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