Page 82 - Build a Culture of Employee Engagement with the Principles

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Employee Engagement

disengaged counterparts. Similarly, a 2008 report by the fed-
eral government found that among federal workers in the United
States, disengaged employees take 25 percent more sick days
than engaged employees.

Accidents
Federal agencies with the lowest average engagement scores
compared to those with the highest experienced almost three
times the average Occupational Safety and Health Administra-
tion (OSHA) lost-time case rate (.73 versus 2.15 per 100 employ-
ees). In a Towers Watson study at beverage giant Molson Coors,
compared to engaged employees, disengaged employees were
five times more likely to have a safety incident and seven times
more likely to be involved in a lost-time safety incident. More-
over, the average cost of a safety incident was six times greater
for the disengaged than engaged employees ($392 versus $63).

Equal Employment
Opportunity (EEO) Complaints
Federal agencies with low employee engagement had more
than double the EEO complaints of agencies with high levels of
employee engagement (.47 percent versus 1.04 percent).

The Bottom Line

The research evidence in support of employee engagement as a
critical determinant of organizational vitality is overwhelming
and unanimous. Companies that foster high levels of employee
engagement enjoy a measurable competitive advantage rela-
tive to those companies with policies, practices, and cultures
that dissuade engagement. The bottom line is that employee
engagement contributes to the bottom line. At the same time,
I would be remiss in not drawing attention to a critical method-
ological problem common to nearly all studies, namely, the lack