LBS FOOTPRINTS
Enhancing employee engagement in the New Normal Dr Okechukwu Amah
Engaged employees apply their total self (physical, emotional, mental) to their roles. They are creative, innovative, and go the extra mile in executing their assigned tasks. Engaged employees recover quickly when their companies go through challenging times; they provide competitive advantage to organisations. Engaged employees are valuable in a pandemic where uncertainty is a norm because they help organisations to keep afloat in the shortterm and to work towards long-term recovery. However, the challenge is that before the pandemic, employee engagement was low across the world. Depending on the source of information, the level is put between 35% and 50%. Unless something is done differently, this is likely to decline. What are the drivers of employee engagement in a pandemic? The answer is the essence of this article. Studies have shown that employee engagement elicits positive emotions from employees and thrives in a work climate that favours communication; growth and development; recognition and appreciation; and trust. A work climate is the outcome of leadership First Issue 2021
behaviour; hence, the foundational driver of employee engagement is leadership behaviour. With declining revenue owing to the global crisis, a leader cannot leverage the hard aspects of these drivers – growth and development – and the hard aspects of recognition and reward based on monetary incentives. Consequently, this article will discuss how the leader can use soft drivers such as leadership behaviour, communication, trust, and eliciting positive emotions to drive employee engagement.
Leadership Behaviour Leadership behaviour is the surface aspect of leadership that is apparent in an organisation. For example, one can identify autocratic and authentic leaders by their different patterns of behaviour. It is generally believed that under certain conditions, an authentic leader creates a positive work climate that will engage employees more than an autocratic leader. However, rather than focus on the surface aspect, it is better to examine the u n d e r l y i n g c a u s e s o f le a d e r s h i p behaviour which unfortunately cannot
30
be noticed on the surface. This is the understanding of leadership or what some people call motive for leadership. There are two motives for leadership; it can be a source of status or a process of service. When leadership is motivated by status, followers are made to serve the leader. The environment created will be toxic and will never engage the employees. However, when leadership is understood as a process of service, the leader creates an environment that values employees and helps them to be the best they can be. Such a leader will exhibit the positive leadership behaviour that creates a positive work climate. Fortunately, leadership motive is not hereditary but can be changed through a deep desire to question the purpose of leadership and its effects on relationships. In this period of uncertainty and fear, a manager's leadership motive is reflected in how they communicate, create an environment of trust, and empathise with employees. A leader whose motive is to acquire status will leave employees to care for themselves and will take decisions to enhance organisational
