Interesting article by Ian Buckingham over on the People Management site.
Ian talks about reciprocity (a favourite subject of ours!) and writes about how the principle of reciprocity is easy to grasp, but not necessarily so simple to implement. Given how reluctant many organisations are when it comes to letting folk practice something new, his observation is well made and well understood here. Ian points us in the direction of some work done by the University of Akron’s Centre for Organizational Research, which highlights that engaged employees tend to:
• Be more satisfied with their jobs;
• Be more likely to stay with their employer even when other opportunities emerge;
• Be more tolerant of (perceived) temporary economic hardships that are down to the economy;
• Bring a consistently higher level of commitment, creativity and energy to their jobs;
• Demonstrate higher levels of “good citizenship” behaviours both at and away from work.
Perhaps unsurprisingly, I particularly like the final point in the list. Linking citizenship to engagement, through a sense of responsibility and sustainability in and outside of the workplace is key to deepening our understanding of the fundamental, and I believe essential link between engagement and service. Very pleased to see this gets drawn out of the research.
Ian closes by reminding us that in tough times, resorting to push communication cloaked in the trappings of engagement is like washing the car and then parking it under a tree full of pigeons. Heh, nice one Ian!