Disengagement of the Workforce

I am intrigued by the worldwide statistics that are bandied about concerning the levels of engagement in the workplace related to the workforce. Australia - 14% actively engaged. USA - 11% Actively engaged. China - 9% actively engaged. No accurate studies have been conducted in SA - but the belief is that we are between 9 and 11%.

Active Engagement being described as representing those employees who have a sense of belonging, ownership and connectedness to their work and employers. Active disengagement referring to those who will go to great lengths to sabotage their companies.

The four points of the continuum would be on the far left Actively Disengaged, then Disengaged (basically people with the philosophy of work is a necessary evil) to Engaged (people who find some sense and purpose in work) to Actively Engaged (those who love what they do and see great opportunity for self expression in it).

I am seeing more and more people opting out of the corporate world - looking for an a feeling of ownership and connectedness to their work and so entering the world of entrepreneurship. Is this truly the way to engagement?

The challenge however is that if we hope to grow our businesses - then most likely we will need to employ others. The question is - how do we keep our workforce engaged?


I look forward to hearing your comments.