“Find a job that you enjoy doing, and you will never have to work again in your life,”
We’ve all heard the saying repeatedly that suggests work can be fulfilling and enjoyable, but is there truth to it? According to a recent Gallup study, 60% of people are emotionally detached at work, with 19% reporting that they’re miserable. Suggesting that other factors may play a significant role in employee engagement and well-being.
Organisations are seeing increasingly low employee morale, and while they know how it is for the company’s success, they still need help fixing it.
In this blog, we’ll walk you through the following:
- Employee engagement. What it means and why it’s essential.
- How employee morale impacts your business.
- Why it’s important to invest in your employees.
- How you can boost employee morale
Defining Employee Engagement
Employee engagement is the degree of enthusiasm and investment employees feel towards their job duties and workplace. It encompasses everything from employee satisfaction and motivation to overall commitment and productivity. Understanding the characteristics of engaged, not engaged, and actively disengaged employees is important to start working towards uncovering the roots.
The Gallup study revealed the following definitions and behaviours of each engagement type.
Engaged Employees are fully committed to their work and the workplace and display exceptional involvement, enthusiasm, and ownership, significantly contributing to the organization’s performance, innovation, and progress.
Not engaged employees are emotionally disconnected from their job and workplace. This disconnection means that while they will still show up to work each day and do what’s required, it won’t be done with enthusiasm or vigour because of unmet needs. Consequently, the quality of their output suffers significantly.
Actively disengaged employees are not only discontent with their role but also harbour resentment due to unfulfilled needs. This type of negativity can have a ripple effect and potentially undermine the work of engaged colleagues daily.
Notice how there are two extremes — engaged and actively disengaged employees. An engaged employee will help foster and work towards implementing innovative ideas to move the company forward, while an actively disengaged employee will (sometimes unknowingly) undermine engaged employees’ work. The critical difference between the two extremes is rooted in meeting employee needs.
The Impact of Employee Morale to your business
As defined above, employee morale is your employees’ overall attitude and satisfaction level primarily influenced by meeting employee needs which entails various factors, including company culture, management style, compensation, and work-life balance. When employees feel valued, engaged, and satisfied with their work, they’re more likely to be productive, loyal, and invested in the company’s success. Conversely, when employees are disengaged or unhappy, their productivity and work quality suffer, and they may be more likely to leave the company.
In the Gallup study discovered that only 34% of U.S. employees are engaged at work1, revealing that a majority are not engaged or actively disengaged. Not engaged employees represent an opportunity, as they’re still completing work in a non-forward-thinking way that will make way for company growth. In contrast, disengaged employees are more likely to experience health problems, miss work, and have lower job satisfaction. They’re also more likely to leave their current job for a new opportunity, leading to high turnover rates, which can be costly and detrimental to a company’s success.
When employees fall into the not engaged and actively disengaged categories or leave their jobs, it becomes an expensive issue for companies, as they need to spend an average of $4,129 on hiring new talent and $986 on onboarding each new employee. These figures imply that each time an employee leaves the company, businesses could face a loss of more than $5,000, in addition to the immeasurable cost of losing an experienced worker2.
Investing in your employees
Losing an employee will cost you thousands and impact overall work knowledge from colleague to colleague. Instead of putting that money into a new employee, invest in improving your current workforce.
Investing in your employees is a smart business decision that can have long-term benefits for your company. When employees are happy and engaged, they’re more likely to be productive and innovative, leading to increased revenue and profitability. A study by the University of Warwick found that happy employees are 12% more productive than their unhappy counterparts3.
In addition to increased productivity, investing in employee morale can also lead to reduced turnover rates. When employees feel valued and satisfied with their work, they’re more likely to stay with the company for the long term. This saves the company money on recruiting and training new employees.
One good way to start to invest in your employees is to figure out their needs and devise a plan around how you can better meet them.
Improving Employee Morale at the workplace
Improving employee morale can be a challenging task for companies, but here are a few ways that technology like AI and computer vision can help:
1. Reduce Fatigue and Stress
Fatigue and stress can significantly impact employee morale and productivity. Long hours, repetitive tasks, and high-pressure environments can lead to burnout and decreased job satisfaction. Technology can help reduce fatigue and stress by automating repetitive and physically demanding tasks. Allowing workers to focus on more complex and fulfilling tasks, leading to greater job satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment. According to a survey by the National Safety Council, 73% of respondents believe that fatigue is a safety concern in their workplace. Implementing computer vision AI to automate repetitive tasks can help reduce fatigue and prevent potential accidents caused by tired workers4.
2. Enhancing Training and Development
Computer vision can enhance training and development for workers. It can provide virtual simulations and tutorials to help workers learn new skills and improve their performance. This enhancement can increase job satisfaction and morale as workers feel more confident and capable in their roles.
According to a study by IBM, companies that provide comprehensive training to their employees have 218% higher income per employee and a 24% higher profit margin than those that do not6. Implementing computer vision in training and development can help companies achieve these benefits and improve employee morale.
3. Improving employee’s daily experiences in real-time
Real-time sentiment analysis powered by AI can provide valuable insights into the daily experiences of employees in the workplace. Through analysing employee feedback and other data, the AI can help identify the general mood and satisfaction levels of employees with their work processes, workflows, relationships with colleagues, and their managers. This information can help HR managers to gain a better understanding of employee behaviour patterns, including identifying employees who may be at risk of leaving the company. HR managers can then take proactive steps to prevent such events and create actionable activities to enrich employee engagement.
When employees feel valued and engaged, they are more likely to take ownership of their work and contribute to the success of the company. In addition, creating a positive work environment can lead to increased employee retention rates, higher productivity levels, and improved overall company morale.
Investing in your employees is a strategic move that has long-term ramifications for your business
Taking proactive steps to improve workplace environments and practices leads to committed employees while increasing your business’s efficiency, productivity, and profitability. Everyone has the right to feel safe, seen, and successful.
At Aicadium, we’re driven by our passion for using ethical AI, to make computer vision AI accessible, practical, and impactful for individuals and teams across industries through our workplace safety product, Aicadium View.
We partner with companies who want to leverage their existing camera infrastructure to detect objects and actions in videos and images to provide workplace insights, creating better products and safer, more productive industrial environments. Using cameras within their facilities, Aicadium View empowers individuals and teams to make proactive data-driven decisions that seamlessly integrate into daily work routines.
Interested in learning more about Aicadium View and how it can help your business today?
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