According to a recent national survey by Eagle Hill Consulting, nearly half (45%) of American workers believe that their employers do not prioritise employee connection. The study is released at a time when companies are still having trouble controlling employee engagement and productivity in on-site, hybrid, and remote work settings.

Employee connection is believed by respondents to the survey to improve job performance. The ability to do their jobs (60%), the quality of their work on a daily basis (58%), their desire to go above and beyond (55%) and their ability to serve customers all improve when employees feel connected to their work (47 percent).

48 percent of employees say that their decision to stay or leave their job is influenced by their connection to their work when it comes to the influence of connections on job satisfaction.

Read the study.

According to Melissa Jezior, president and CEO of Eagle Hill Consulting, “What we are seeing is that organisations are looking too narrowly at employee connection, defining it only in terms of employee relationships.” “Hosting happy hours and social events is just one aspect of employee connection. Employers ought to adopt a more comprehensive, strategic perspective instead. Employee connection is about fostering a workplace where employees feel connection not just to people, but also to their work, organization, and culture.”

The work environment of today is extremely complicated, with labour shortages in some sectors, layoffs in others, and an increase in the demand for hybrid and at-home work. Given these difficulties, businesses would be wise to invest wisely in fostering employee connection in order to boost productivity, increase employee retention, and boost job satisfaction. Additionally, any implemented employee connection strategies ought to be based on what Jezior said employees value most: a sense of belonging at work and a sense of purpose for the organisation.

Here are five ways employers can strengthen relationships with staff members:

• Reconsider the employee relationship. Examine programmes already in place that promote communication between individuals, throughout daily tasks, and with the larger organisation. Identify the strengths, weaknesses, and effects of change.
• Check in with your staff to see what they need. Use surveys and focus groups to communicate with the workforce to identify problems and potential solutions.
• Find both natural and artificial connections. It takes planning and coordination to create the conditions for connection, especially when staff members are working remotely and not in a common physical area.
• Develop a sense of direction by developing a compelling future vision. It’s critical to evaluate whether the current organisational vision is still applicable and, if not, to reframe it in light of the rapid pace of societal change. In the end, this makes sure that workers are more engaged with their jobs.

Learn more about promoting workplace relationships.

The 2023 Eagle Hill Employee Connection Survey is where these results come from. Ipsos conducted the online survey the week of January 3–5, 2023, with 1,362 participants chosen at random from workers all over the United States.

A woman-owned company, Eagle Hill Consulting LLC, offers unusual management consulting services in the fields of talent, change, and strategy. The private, public, and nonprofit sectors can all benefit from the company’s expertise in providing cutting-edge solutions to particular challenges. Eagle Hill, a preeminent expert on employee satisfaction, has offices in Boston and Seattle and its headquarters is in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area. Visit www.eaglehillconsulting.com for more details.