A 2006 survey by Gallup Management Journal found that 56 percent of the US workforce is “not-engaged,’ or sleepwalking through their workday, costing their organization money by putting in time without any passion or personal involvement. Fifteen percent of the United States workforce is “actively disengaged,” where employees are unhappy and manifest their unhappiness not only by undermining the efforts of the engaged employees, but also by creating a hostile work environment that is toxic for all employees possibly leaing to workplace violence.
In April 2009, the U.S.Bureau of Labor Statistics published a press release reporting that the usual weekly earnings of wage and salary workers for the first quarter of 2009 were: “Median weekly earnings of the nation’s 100.2 million full-time wage and salary workers were $738 in the first quarter of 2009.” A yearly median salary will be $38,376.00 ($738X52 weeks), the actively disengaged employee will cost their employer 41 percent of their annual salary i.e. $15,922.00. Multiplying that by 15 percent of the workforce, and it demonstrates employer's loss of millions, if not billions of dollars.
Gallup estimates the lost productivity of actively disengaged employees costs the US economy $370 BILLION annually. In February 2010, the number of employees voluntarily quitting surpassed the number being fired or discharged, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The issue becomes how long an organization can afford to survive before dealing with the problem of actively disengaged and disgruntled employees.
The solution is available for a fraction of the cost of the loss incurred by these organizations.
The solution is fostering a positive work environment through diversity and inclusion, training, action plan, execution and follow-up. Creating an organizational culture where all employees feel valued and a vital part of the organization.
Positive work environment is created when the
employees feel that they are part of a team working collectively with the
senior management towards common goals, be part of decision making and
collaborate towards the success of the organization.
Culture will eat strategy for lunch anytime of the
day, so it becomes evident why a culture of respect and acknowledgment goes a
long way.
The foundation of positive work environment lies on
the commitment of every single person at the organization to engage with each
other, manage diversity and inclusion, transparency, develop cross-cultural
leadership skills, and being accountable for their individual actions, progress
and goal achievements.
The most successful workplaces are those in which
everyone works well together to create a positive work environment by living
the mission, vision and core values of the organization, in alignment with its
culture of respecting the diverse talents, valuing and embracing the
differences.
In a positive work environment teamwork is appreciated
and builds on each others’ strengths and abilities; a strong belief that every
single employee is unique and bring their own unique abilities and capabilities
to the table and have the right to be treated with dignity and respect;
Diversity & Inclusion are weaved through the threads of the organization’s
culture where exclusive clubs and ISMs do not exist
Diversity starts at home.