Dr. Matt Grawitch has an excellent post at St. Louis
University’s Professional Perspectives blog titled: “A Psychologically Healthy Workplace: Some Things to Keep in
Mind.” Here’s a quote about engagement.
“Engagement is about feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally present
while you are completing your work tasks. Being present means you’re not
distracted by worries at home. Being present means you’re not thinking about
something else you’d rather be doing. True, your boss can have a positive impact
on the engagement experience, but there are many factors that can influence
‘presence.'”
The use of “presence” in the definition of engagement goes back to the early
1990s and pre-dates the Gallup research that sparked the current engagement fad.
I hadn’t thought about that definition in years, but when I read Matt’s post, a
lot of things clicked into place.
The most important was the fact that “engagement” at work is affected by
factors of all kinds, some of which are outside of work. Here’s a summary quote
from Matt’s article.
“Engagement is about feeling mentally, physically, and emotionally present
while you are completing your work tasks. Being present means you’re not
distracted by worries at home. Being present means you’re not thinking about
something else you’d rather be doing. True, your boss can have a positive impact
on the engagement experience, but there are many factors that can influence
‘presence.'”
Read the whole post, but remember this. If presence is the way we define
engagement, then non-work factors affect it. If you’re a boss, those are things
you can’t do much about.
Boss’s Bottom Line
Forget about trying to define “engagement” or creating it among your team
members. Instead concentrate on what you can control and do a good boss’s job.
You may not increase “engagement,” whatever that is, but you’re more like wind
up with high morale and productivity, which make a pretty good substitute.
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