Surprising? 46 percent Indians happy with their jobs and bosses

Indian employees are a happy lot unlike their global counterparts, a report indicates. Only a dismal 9 percent of Indian employees are dissatisfied with their jobs compared to the higher percentages for APAC and Global employees.

According to the Dale Carnegie India Employee Engagement Report 2014 released today, Indian employees are significantly more engaged (happyy) than their global counterparts with 46 percent employees fully engaged compared to the global average of 34 percent.

Large companies in India with more than 100,000 employees tend to have the lowest amount of disengaged (unhappy) employees at just 5 percent, while smaller companies (500-1000 employees) had 14 percent.

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How you engage with your work is directly proportionate to your tenure at the workplace. A solid 76 percent of those working for 20-25 years at the same organization were reported to be highly engaged with their work.

It is better to keep one’s lips sealed when talking about one’s employer. No wonder there was not much of a response when asked about their bosses at the workplace, in the survey. The report reveals that only 13 percent of Indian employees reported major dissatisfaction with their immediate supervisor. And 45 percent chose to stay neutral regarding this issue.

The confidence quotient vis a vis the senior management was low at a mere 31 percent, reflecting perhaps a gap in leadership abilities at the top.

Many employees strongly felt that there was lack of team spirit and co-operation in their organizations raising concerns about an unsupportive team, closed communication structures and inadequate training provided on the job.

What should companies do?

More than half the respondents at the top level were reported to be disengaged at the workplace, according the survey. More than half, ie. 55 percent managers said they were partially disengaged while 8 percent said they were completely disengaged. This should raise serious concerns at the managerial level. There is a need for companies to ensure this group doesn’t sink from partial engagement to complete disengagement. For companies striving to build a high performing culture, there is an urgent need to invest in this employee segment by developing specific engagement initiatives.

While one’s direct reporting manager has a strong role to play in employee engagement, the effect of senior leadership cannot be ignored. Just 39 percent of employees have confidence in the leadership ability of their top management and a disappointing 66 percent were ambivalent or strongly believed that their senior leaders were moving the organization in the wrong direction.

This finding highlights the growing need and responsibility on immediate supervisors and senior management to be seen as leaders on par with the best in the industry and to build and sustain this confidence. When employees are assured that there company is being steered in the right direction, they more likely to think of long-term career prospects within an organization.In addition, to tackle problems related to employee stress and boredom, companies should consider redesigning mundane tasks and employing learning and performance tools to drive engagement. Targeted interventions which assess the need gaps and then design programs around that specific engagement need (be it leadership, team work or communication) tend to have far greater impact than non-customized solutions.

Lastly, the importance of developing open communication and feedback mechanisms cannot be overemphasized, said the report.

Employee engagement programmes
Successful employee engagement programs recognize company dynamics, identify the need for individual roles and align the employee’s personal experience and goals with the company’s vision to enhance job satisfaction and create a positive work culture.

In the coming times, it is evident employee engagement will assume greater significance, becoming the center of a company’s business and talent strategy so as to achieve its business goals.

Dale Carnegie sent a set of questions to companies across India, of which 1204 respondents answered it.

Commenting on the report, Pallavi Jha, Chairperson and Managing Director, Dale Carnegie Training India, Walchand PeopleFirst said, “Against the volatile business environment, talent has today emerged as the most important asset of a company. As the war for talent intensifies, strategic employee engagement initiatives offer companies an effective tool to attract and retain premium talent as well as the tipping point to enhance productivity. Our study indicates a high level of engagement amongst the Indian workforce compared to the global average, however an alarming 54 percent of Indian employees remain somewhat dissatisfied in their jobs signaling an urgent need for companies to take proactive steps to sustain engagement.”