American Hustle: Most workers "disengaged"

YT&Twebzine
Most workers are not engaged in their jobs, Gallup reports.
Most workers are not engaged in their jobs, Gallup reports.
There’s a dreamy-eyed notion about American workers. They are entrepreneurs, builders and thinkers who pull the country ahead with can-do and a powerful collective imagination. But beyond the idealism, a dirty truth lingers: only 31.5 percent are “engaged” in their work.

     But wait -- that statistic is both good news and bad news for employers. The percentage of engaged workers is the highest reading since 2000, when Gallup Inc. first began following “engagement levels,” the pollster reports. In the 2013 study, 29.6 percent of employees were described as engaged in their work.
     Those are the employees everyone wants, naturally. The bad news is that more than half, 51 percent, are “not engaged,” according to Gallup. And 17.5 percent were “actively disengaged” in 2014. That means the overwhelming majority -- nearly 7  in 10 American workers -- are in the not-engaged or “actively disengaged” category.
     Here are five takeaways from the report:

How to know an “engaged" employee: As Gallup sees it, an “engaged” employee is “involved in, enthusiastic about and committed to their work and workplace.”

Managers are most likely to be engaged: Managers, executives and officers hold the highest level of engagement. In the Gallup survey, 38.4 percent said they were engaged in 2014 – a four-point increase from 2013, when 34.7 percent of managers were described as engaged. (Similarly, the Pew Research Center in 2014 found bosses tended to be happier at work than employees.)

Bad news for manufacturing: Gallup reports that production and manufacturing workers are among the least engaged. Only 23 percent – roughly 2 out of 10 – were described as engaged.

The millennial generation is least engaged: Only 28.9 percent of these younger workers are engaged, Gallup reports. That may be because many didn’t get the jobs they hoped for out of college. Generation X and baby boomers are roughly tied – about 32 percent are engaged. But 42 percent of the "traditionalist" generation is described as engaged. This group is older than the boomers – meaning that they were born before 1945.  

Changing views: Gallup notes that employee engagement initiatives have become more common. Also, the jobless rate has gone down (see stories), and public perceptions of the economy are on the upswing.  

      Related:

      Pew study finds bosses happier at home, work

      5 issues that divide employers, employees

      Contact us