Eye-Opening Workplace Statistics From Gallup That Business Leaders Need To Know

Gallup, Inc. is a private, employee-owned analytics and advisory company based in Washington, D.C.

Founded by George Gallup as the American Institute of Public Opinion in 1935, the organization delivers analytics and advice to help leaders and organizations solve their most pressing problems. Gallup is the go-to resource for learning about the attitudes and behaviors of employees and customers.

And as revealed in Gallup’s latest book, Culture Shock, authored by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter, the following are some eye-opening statistics today’s business leaders need to know.

Among workers in the U.S., there is a dead-even tie between work-life splitters (who prefer strict hours) and work-life blenders (who might get work done on an evening or weekend). Both can be highly engaged and productive, but leaders must identify which is which to prevent burnout.
90% of U.S. employees with desk and office jobs aren’t longing for the old workplace to return, and nearly 40% of employees say they would change jobs for an option to work full or part-time from a flexible location.
Globally, eight in 10 employees are not engaged or are actively disengaged at work: in the U.S., it’s seven in 10.
70% of the variance in team engagement is determined by just the manager.
75% of employees who report receiving meaningful feedback in the past week were fully engaged regardless of how many days they worked in the office.

As has been written about repeatedly, the COVID-19 pandemic caused an awakening that shocked the world — a structural change in how and where people work and live. One thing we now know for certain: Nothing is going back to normal.

Therefore, how organizations adapt to this culture shock will determine whether they thrive or even survive and whether U.S. and global productivity will go up or down.

The immediate danger is that most employees will now operate more like independent contractors or gig workers than employees who are loyal and committed to your organization. The risk grows as your workforce’s mentality continues to shift from my life at work to my life at home. It may become nearly impossible to create a culture of committed team members and powerful relationships at work.

Fortunately, Culture Shock, offers invaluable advice for business leaders, including:

The evidence in favor of and against the four-day workweek.
The most important activity of today’s manager.
A framework for building a strengths-based culture where employee’s strengths are matched to their roles.
A CEO Playbook for adapting to this culture shock now.

Finally, one of my favorite takeaways from the book is the chapter outlining the importance of having one meaningful conversation with each employee each week.

According to Gallup researchers, the top five characteristics (and what to discuss) of meaningful conversations in order of importance are:

Recognition or appreciation for the employee’s recent work.
Collaboration and relationships, including connecting the right team partners.
Current goals and priorities at work, including clarity of work expectations for the employee.
The length of the conversation – ideally between 15 and 30 minutes.
Employee strengths or the things they do well.

Thank you to the book’s publisher for sending me an advance copy of the book.

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