The Art and Heart of Leadership: Employee Engagement and Wellbeing. Julie Kay Wechsler, M.A., Ed.D., Director Student Success

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1 The Art and Heart f Leadership: Emplyee Engagement and Wellbeing Julie Kay Wechsler, M.A., Ed.D., Directr Student Success Suth Muntain Cmmunity Cllege The envirnment in which ur institutins exist is changing, and we must change in respnse. As Cmmunity Cllege leaders, we are faced with nging demands fr new utcmes, and ften expected t meet these demands with declining budgets and fewer peple. Business as usual will nt suffice. Instead, we must emply new strategies t engage ur staff and faculty in creative prblem slving and the develpment f innvative slutins. Recently, a glbal cnsulting cmpany reprted that we have entered the Human Age and identified human ptential as the leverage pint needed t supprt rganizatinal grwth and sustainability (Right Management, 2014). This article will explre tw areas f fcus prven t unleash human ptential emplyee engagement and wellbeing. Emplyee Engagement Emplyee engagement is defined as the emtinal attachment emplyees feel twards their place f wrk, jb rle, psitin within the cmpany, clleagues and culture and the affect this attachment has n wellbeing and prductivity (HRZne). Many emplyees are nt fully engaged, and in fact, may just be surviving at wrk rather than thriving, leaving them less willing r even less able t respnd t the challenges we face. Accrding t Gallup (State f the American Wrkplace, 2012), nly 30% f all U.S. emplyees are engaged in their wrk, and 70% are either disengaged r are actively disengaged. In the next sectin, we will further describe these levels f engagement and implicatins fr the wrkplace. Engaged emplyees are described as invlved in, enthusiastic abut, and cmmitted t their wrk. Engaged emplyees cntribute t their rganizatins in a psitive manner by cnsistently

2 perfrming at high levels, driving innvatin, and helping t mve their institutins frward. Unfrtunately, Gallup fund nly 3 ut f 10 emplyees engaged in their wrk. Disengaged emplyees are nt cnnected t their institutin r cwrkers, and are nt verly cncerned abut their custmers, their prductivity, r their cnnectin t the missin r purpse f the team. They may be satisfied with their jb, but they wrk withut passin, cmmitment, r energy. Gallup fund that mre than half (52%) f all emplyees are disengaged. Actively disengaged emplyees accunt fr mre mistakes, miss mre days f wrk, have mre accidents, and are mre likely t leave than their engaged cunterparts. These emplyees are cnsistently negative and share their unhappiness with their clleagues, custmers, and their managers. The Gallup study fund that 18% f all emplyees were actively disengaged. A significant pprtunity t imprve the respnsiveness f ur rganizatins exists amng the 70% f ur emplyees wh are nt engaged in their wrk. By increasing the engagement f these emplyees, we increase ur capacity t mre effectively respnd t ur changing envirnment. Additinal gains can be achieved thrugh a fcus n emplyee wellbeing. Recent research revealed that when cmpanies add a wellbeing fcus t their engagement prgrams, prductivity gains are accelerated (Gallup, 2014). In the next sectin, we will explre emplyee wellbeing as a cmplementary strategy t leverage the human ptential within ur institutins. Emplyee Wellbeing Wellbeing is a hlistic cncept identified as the result f decades f research by Gallup. In 2008, Gallup frmed a partnership with Healthways merging findings related t health and behaviral ecnmics in rder t understand the key factrs that drive wellbeing (Gallup Healthways). The result is the Well being Index which describes five elements that add meaning and satisfactin t life, and differentiate a life f thriving frm a life f surviving r suffering. The five elements f wellbeing are:

3 Purpse: Liking what yu d each day and being mtivated t achieve yur gals Scial: Having supprtive relatinships and lve in yur life Financial: Managing yur ecnmic life t reduce stress and increase security Cmmunity: Liking where yu live, feeling safe and having pride in yur cmmunity Physical: Having gd health and enugh energy t get things dne daily This mdel demnstrates that wellbeing is mre than just health r wellness. Fr example, when cmparing peple wh are thriving in ne element with thse wh are thriving in all five, Gallup fund that peple thriving in all elements: Reprted 41% fewer unhealthy days Were mre than twice as likely t say they always adapt well t change Were 65% less likely t be invlved in a wrkplace accident Were 81% less likely t lk fr a new jb Research has shwn that peple with high levels f wellbeing are absent less frequently, engage their clleagues and custmers mre effectively, generate new ideas, and save the rganizatin mney because they take respnsibility fr their health and verall wellbeing. By supprting emplyee wellbeing, an institutin can drive bth individual emplyee effectiveness and psitive rganizatinal utcmes. The Value f a Dual Fcus: Engagement and Wellbeing In a recent article entitled, Mem t Executives: Well being Bsts Emplyee Engagement, Gallup reprted that a dual fcus n emplyee engagement and wellbeing increases bth emplyee prductivity and custmer satisfactin. The study fund that when emplyees are emtinally cnnected t their wrk and are thriving in all five elements f wellbeing, they bring their best t wrk

4 and this is reflected in the experiences their custmers have. At a prfessinal services cmpany Gallup studied, custmers f wrkgrups with bth high engagement and high well being were: 24% mre likely t say the rganizatin had reslved their prblems 24% mre likely t perceive that the rganizatin was cmmitted t accuracy and quality 21% mre likely t say the rganizatin shared knwledge with them 20% mre likely t say the rganizatin delivered n its prmises While we may nt think f ur students as custmers, many wuld agree that we are in the service industry. The findings discussed in this paper suggest that a fcus n bth emplyee engagement and wellbeing may be the key t supprting rganizatinal success and sustainability during these challenging times.

5 References Gallup Healthways Slutins. (n.d.). Retrieved February 26, 2015, frm Gallup Healthways. Gallup. (2014, December 5). Mem t Executives: Wellbeing Bsts Emplyee Engagement. Retrieved February 26, 2015, frm Gallup Business Jurnal: executives bsts emplyeeengagement.aspx HRZne (n.d.). Retrieved February 27, 2015, frm HRZne: glssary/what is emplyee engagement Right Management. (2014). WrkplaceWellness. Retrieved February 26, 2015, frm Right Management: prductivity management Rbisn, J. (2010, June 9). The Business Case fr Wellbeing. Retrieved February 26, 2015, frm businessjurnal.gallup.cm: casewellbeing.aspx State f the American Wrkplace (2012). New Yrk: Gallup. Wagner, R. &. (2006). 12: The Elements f Great Managing. New Yrk: Gallup Press.

6 BIO Dr. Julie Wechsler has mre than 20 years experience facilitating psitive change with peple and rganizatins in bth industry and higher educatin. Julie s career began at IBM where she learned the cmpany s basic beliefs ~ respect fr the individual, superlative service and the pursuit f excellence. These beliefs have guided Julie s wrk since that time in prjects related t rganizatinal change, leadership develpment and mst recently in her wrk with Strengths and Wellbeing. Julie is a Gallupcertified Strengths Cach and hlds advanced certificatins frm ASTD, the Center fr Creative Leadership, and the IBM Advanced Business Institute. Julie currently serves as the Directr f Student Success at Suth Muntain Cmmunity Cllege where she is respnsible fr the cllege s Strengths fr Students initiative. Julie and her husband Fred have six grwn children and live in Phenix where she enjys hiking, bicycling, and gardening.

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