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Lack of Employee Engagement is an Emotional Issue

Creating a sense of belonging in your organization is the solution.

By Anne Dranitsaris, Ph.D.

Employees need to feel a sense of belonging in order to find meaning in their work and to engage the

power of their emotions. The more employees discover links between personal ideals, a meaningful

organizational mission or intention, and larger social values, the greater their commitment to their

goals. They need to be able to connect their own identify to the organizations intrinsic identity in order

to feel a part of the collective. This provides them with a mechanism for the expression of caring about

the organization they belong to.

The basis of our individual identity comes from the way in which we construct our view of ourselves and

of others when we are in interaction with each other. As a result of our relationships and interactions,

we may grow, or our growth may be thwarted. Ideally, through our initial relationships within

our families, we identify with a scheme of socially imposed values that are deeply linked to our own

personal motives. These values can create profound connections and a common language between

individuals and groups because of their emotional intensity.

For this reason, when people talk about what they want for themselves and for their organization, it is in

a very emotional and idealistic fashion. It is spoken of with similar fervor as when speaking of what they

want for their children. If leaders do not understand the need to incorporate a set of values that

employees can relate to and identify with into their missions, employees feel deflated and disconnected.

As a result, they can easily lose sight of the larger meaning of their work and will withdraw their

emotional commitment and its pursuant energy.

Engage the Power of Emotion

People need to feel a sense of belonging in order to find meaning in their work and to engage the power

of their emotions. The more employees discover links between personal ideals, a meaningful

organizational mission or intention, and larger social values, the greater their commitment to their

goals. They need to be able to connect their own identify to the organizations intrinsic identity in order

to feel a part of the collective. This provides them with a mechanism for the expression of caring about

the organization they belong to.

However, as a result of the ever changing and evolving society that we live in, the identity that people

once developed through a sense of organizational membership has all but disappeared. As well, the

notions of job security or identity have become obsolete in rapidly evolving organizations. The intrinsic

identity of an organization leaving has all but disappeared, leaving it dependant on how it is performing

relative to other companies with a similar function to measure itself against.

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For most organizations, it seems to be a question of “Who are we like?” rather than “Who are we?”.

Instead of possessing an identity that reflects the inherent intention of the company, one in which

employees can share this sense of purposefulness, company identities are now extrinsic in nature, and

how the organization is seen, and its ability to adapt to external demands, have become the source of its

identity. The core value shifts from the value placed by the organization and its leaders on its intrinsic

identity (i.e. people, quality, community), to striving to achieve what is valued externally (i.e. how large,

how much profit, how many awards).

Connecting People to Organizational Values

What is critical for leaders today is their ability to connect people to their values, which can be achieved

through understanding what their employees need in order to achieve emotional connection and

commitment. It requires leaders to focus on organization-specific connections between personal,

organizational and social values: leaders in organizations must understand the need to articulate this

threefold set of values, in order to get employees emotionalized and energized. Leaders must be able to

make the connections between their own passion, the organization’s core intention, the organizational

culture, and a connecting set of social values that will motivate the employees.

Although the identification and promotion of organizational values has become popular, and forms part

of most strategic planning sessions, it does not always reflect the true values of the leaders. In addition,

these activities are rarely linked to human resource systems that might enhance their implementation.

Many organizations have articulated their values; however, the stated values are often idealistic in

nature and unilateral in their scope. They do not differentiate between personal, organizational and

social values; any one of which can be a priority to an employee. This means that they are not likely to

provide employees with the foundation for attachment; and, consequently, employees will continue to

feel disconnected and to act out of their anxiety and fear of abandonment, in ways that are detrimental

to the organization.

For more information about our approach to employee engagement or cultural alignment, contact

Heather Hilliard at hhilliard@caliberleadership.com or 416.406.3939 Ex 1.