Surface Ripples

Who's Connected?

The discussion about working from home, its benefits and downsides continues apace.

A recent examination of the WFH phenomenon explored how many workers felt “connected” to their employers.  According to Gallup, only 28% of fully remote workers felt connected to the workplace, down from 32% in 2022. On the other side, on-site employees came in at 33% feeling connected.

So who, you ask, felt most connected?  Interestingly, it was the “hybrid” workers (by which I assume they mean people WFH and going into the office as needed). This group came in at 35%.

To me, the most telling result isn’t so much the percentages feeling “connected” as the implied numbers that don’t - over 60% (no matter whether “remote”, “full-time” or “hybrid”).  A sense of being connected or what some call belonging can come from a variety of factors: your colleagues, your boss, the company’s vision (and how effectively is this shared in many cases?) and of course, compensation! When it comes to any of these factors, they may have a greater or lesser impact, but suffice to say, if compensation (salary, benefits, other “perks”) remains static, then workers will inevitably feel less connected, loyal, or however we want to put it.

Conclusion? Leadership continues to play the most important role: explaining and sharing the vision, knowing their direct reports and what’s important to them, making sure that the latter is acknowledged and actioned.

Whether working from home, on site or “hybrid”, people can feel engaged or not if the right efforts are made. 

No matter how high the money, lack of leadership loses people.

I’ve spent more than half my life delivering change in different world markets from the most developed to “emerging” economies. With a wealth of international experience in international financial services around the world running different operations and lending businesses, I started my own Consultancy to provide solutions for improving performance, productivity and risk management.  I work with individuals, small businesses, charities, quoted companies and academic institutions across the world. An international speaker, trainer, author and fund-raiser, I can be contacted by email. My website  provides a full picture of my portfolio of services.  

Labels: Leadership, Productivity, Teamwork

posted by William Martin @ 09:27