Recently I saw an ad for a men’s wristwatch. The company had substituted the “5” on the watch face for a picture of a martini. Apparently this reminds the wearer of the watch that it’s time to leave work and head for the bar! It got me thinking about “humpday” and TGIF, the “grind” as some call it, and all the expressions workers use to show their disdain for their jobs.
Gallup released a poll in 2013 showing that a shocking 63 percent of employees are disengaged and another 24 percent are actively disengaged. Those disengaged workers cost business over $300 billion per year.
We know that happy workers are productive workers, so apparently the majority are pretty unhappy nowadays. Can you blame them? Overwork, underpay, job insecurity, and many less tangible reasons. And the root cause… organizations with leaders who place little to no value on their employees. Inflated egos, inattention, inability to say “thank you,” and perhaps worst of all, lack of transparency. This is how business is done, and trust is busted. In a recent blog post called “In Building Trust Actions Speak Louder than Words,” I offered some very simple suggestions for leaders who want to give trust a try. Pick just one or two from this list today and watch engagement grow immediately.
Not convinced? Look what happens at companies like Zappos when employee engagement is placed very high on the “to do” list. And as my friends at Edelman like to say, “If you want your employees to trust you, try engaging with them.” You may find less of them checking their watches for that 5 o’clock reminder to head to the bar.
Thank goodness today is Monday! I love my job and occasionally I even pat myself on the back.
Barbara Brooks Kimmel is the Executive Director of Trust Across America-Trust Around the World whose mission is to help organizations build trust. She is also the editor of the award winning TRUST INC. book series. In 2012 Barbara was named “One of 25 Women Changing the World” by Good Business International.
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Copyright © 2014, Next Decade, Inc.
Have a question? Feel free to contact me: barbara@trustacrossamerica.com
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