According to a 2013 report from Gallup, 70% of employees in the workforce are not engaged or are actively disengaged in their work. Though I don’t do rigorous studies like Gallup, I would guess that this number would probably reflect how many people are disengaged from life in general. Whether it’s in the workplace or in life as a whole, we are much happier when we engage.
Work
Gallup defines levels of engagement as the following:
Engaged: “They work with passion and feels a profound connection to their organization. They drive innovation and move the organization forward.”
Not Engaged: “They are essentially ‘checked out.’ They’re sleepwalking through their workday, putting time – but not energy or passion – into their work.”
Actively Disengaged: “They aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Every day, these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.”
Another very recent Gallup report (just a few months ago) shows that only 35% of managers are engaged in their work – only slightly higher than employees in general. No wonder our workplaces are so dreary.
Gallup has shown that having so few employees and managers engaged in their work costs companies billions of dollars. They’ve shown that just by having engaged employees, a company can increase it’s revenue by 18%. Having engaged managers increases company revenue by 27%.
Life
I find that these levels of engagement are similar for life in general. There are people who are engaged in life. They feel a profound connection to other people, their communities, and humanity in general. They drive change and move people in their world forward.
There are people who are not engaged. They are ‘checked out’. They sleepwalk through life. They’re physically present, but are emotionally and mentally absent. They put little energy or passion into their life.
There are people who are actively disengaged with life. They are acting out their unhappiness. They undermine the efforts of other people.
Calling
Finding and living your calling is closely correlated to engaging with life and other people. When you are deeply involved in something that matters, your level of engagement will naturally go up.
What if we were all more engaged in life? What if couples were more engaged in their marriages? What if people were more engaged in their communities? What if people were more engaged with their friends and families? What if we were more positively engaged with people at the store, serving customers, or with the other drivers in traffic? What would it be like if we were all more engaged and passionate about loving people and making the world a better place?
Just imagine.
I close with this quote:
Ask not what the world needs. Ask what makes you come alive… then go do it. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.
– Howard Thurman
What makes you come alive?
