Infogroup announces findings of employee engagement study

Infogroup, a leading provider of global market and business research, announced yesterday the findings of its 2010 employee research study, which examined comparative levels of employee engagement across the globe. A key finding from the study offered insight into the degree to which US employees are interested in striving for and staying with their current employer.

“However, less attention has been given to the impact of high engagement from an employee perspective. We now measure sustainable engagement through our Healthy Workplace Index, and this helps ensure that high levels of engagement can be maintained without leading to burn-out.”

Compared to other countries, the USA performed strongly on certain aspects of engagement, ranking 6th out of the 17 countries included in the survey, with India ranking #1. The findings also indicated that US employees tend to be more positive about striving for their organization and are motivated by their organization to contribute more than is normally required in their work (54% positive, 5 percentage points above the global norm). They are also more likely to recommend their organization as a place to work compared to the global norm (57% positive, 6 percentage points above the global norm). However, intentions to stay with their organization for the next 12 months are below the global norm by six percentage points. “As employees’ motivation is high and commitment is in line with the global norm, this may suggest that portfolio careers are a more prominent feature of US culture,” said Lisa Wojtkowiak of ORC’s Employee Research practice. “To increase the length of stay for employees, it is not only important to measure employee engagement, but to ensure engagement will be sustainable by creating a healthy workplace.”

On the issue of healthy workplaces, the US ranked joint third with Australia and Switzerland, with a Healthy Workplace Index score of 57% or 5 points above the global norm. US employees were more likely to say that health and safety issues are taken seriously in their organization, and that there are policies in place to support employees who experience stress or pressure. “Employee Engagement has long been regarded as important for an organization’s success,” Wojtkowiak said. “However, less attention has been given to the impact of high engagement from an employee perspective. We now measure sustainable engagement through our Healthy Workplace Index, and this helps ensure that high levels of engagement can be maintained without leading to burn-out.” Click here to read the full report.