OVERCOMING EMPLOYEE DISENGAGEMENT
By Paul Diamond, Web Editor, Vistage
Do you have employees who appear bored, or who always seem to be surfing the Internet when you walk by? Studies show that as much as one-third of workers in the United States don't have enough to do, and that underchallenged employees spend more than two hours a day on personal matters. For CEOs who and seek to raise productivity, now may be a good time to address your nonperformers.
A recently published book explores the subject of underchallenged employees. Boreout! Overcoming Workplace Demotivation opens the eyes of executives and personnel managers to an emerging problem among staff called "boreout syndrome." While the book is written primarily for an audience of unsatisfied and unmotivated employees, it's nonetheless a topic of concern for CEOs.
Burnout, as many CEOs know, comes from trying to do too much. Boreout comes from being chronically underchallenged. Staff suffering from boreout are underworked, underchallenged and generally outright bored. They feel dissatisfaction with their job and no sense of commitment to their work. The resulting frustration leads them to disengage and spend work time doing personal things such as email, shop, web surf, look for another job, etc.
The authors of Boreout, Philippe Rothlin and Peter Werder, (Europe-based business consultants) explain that underutilized employees often make requests for more challenging work. When those requests go unmet, workers feel a sense of resignation. They soon give up trying to find more challenging work and turn their attention toward looking busy.
The Boredom Solution
Rothlin and Werder suggest that employees suffering from boreout must recognize their needs and make the necessary changes to bring about more fulfilling work. While the authors don't focus much on what employers can do, employers should take stock of their staff and get a sense for who is suffering from boreout. Here are four actions that can help motivate lackluster employees.
Communicate: Managers should communicate with their employees regularly, asking questions such as, "What kind of challenge do you want that you're not getting?" or "What role in this company do you think you'd excel at?"
Continuing education: If your company pays for continuing education, getting employees involved in learning new skills can make them feel re-engaged in work.
Involvement: To involve employees, try creating an environment where they feel that their decisions are valued and their actions lead to the improvement and the success of their work. Also, increase the employee's role at work and decrease the supervisor's role by allowing employees to make suggestions, inviting them to make decisions, and getting employee buy-in on new projects.
Goals and praise: Setting goals and then rewarding, and even publically praising, employees for a job well done helps create meaning for employees who have otherwise resigned themselves to disengagement at work.
Don't expect your employees to be forthcoming if they are disengaged at work. They would rather remain disengaged than risk being demoted or fired for calling attention to the dispensability of their role. Boreout is an issue that employers must address proactively.
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