Improving employee engagement by understanding what it isn’t

Every business wants to have a worker base that's fully “engaged.” But what does that mean? While there are a variety of ways to answer that question, perhaps one of the easiest approaches is to first come to terms with what employee engagement is not.

1. Happy

A common misconception is that an engaged employee is a “happy.” While yes, there tends to be a correlation between “happiness” and “engagement,” that doesn't mean they are mutually exclusive. In fact, many companies that try hard to engage their workers end up going too far in trying to ensure their happiness.

For example, businesses could give employees free massages, beer during work, game rooms, in-house gym access, half-day Fridays and other amenities. Workers will be happy to have all these benefits, but this happiness is derived from the fact that the perks are fun and interesting, not because their jobs are necessarily attractive. Engaged employees tend to be happy, but happy workers aren't always engaged.

“Someone might be happy at work, but that doesn't necessarily mean they are working hard, productively on behalf of the organization,” Forbes adds.

2. Satisfied

One of the leading tools businesses use to judge engagement levels are “satisfaction surveys,” which employees fill out to provide feedback to management. However, once again, satisfaction does not translate into engagement.

An employee with a relatively light workload who is able to complete a 9-to-5 day without any issues might be “satisfied.” This type of satisfaction isn't what companies want. First and foremost, this employee wouldn't have any second thoughts if a competing company offered a higher wage to jump ship. Moreover, this worker probably isn't actually being as productive as possible and striving for higher goals. It's another instance where engaged employees are satisfied, but satisfied employees aren't always engaged.

Once businesses realize that engagement isn't as simple as “happiness” and “satisfaction,” they can begin to implement solutions to foster actual relationships with employees. Engagement is a hard thing to define, but is a goal that any company – regardless of size, industry or any other factor – should strive to achieve.