The UK can be proud of its hosting efforts of the 2012 Olympics as our top athletes gathered a wealth of gold, silver and bronze medals, the best haul we’ve achieved in over a century. Our athletes take pride in their work and reap the benefits when they stand on top the podium listening to the national anthem played out to one billion people across the globe. They know the opportunities high profile sporting achievements can bring, but nothing beats the feeling of striving hard to achieve a goal that you truly believe in and watching that dream become a reality. However, when it comes to the rest of us who often ‘fall into a job’ (seemingly unintentionally) I doubt there will be many flags raised in our honour. In fact, UK employers beware, only 40 per cent of employees take pride in the place that they work.
http://staffmotivationmatters.co.uk/team-gb-athletes-take-pride-work-shame-rest-us/
Just two fifths of people said they were proud to work for their current employer, a shocking figure that has been unearthed by Hyphen research. Employee engagement was seen to have dropped as a result of the dismal economic conditions. No wonder, how can you get engaged with the vision of your organisation if you are ashamed to tell people you work there?
It appears that women felt the drop in job satisfaction most during the second quarter of the year, with almost a third having no pride in the organisation they work for. Younger workers were also affected, with many stating that they felt a significant drop in support from their manager, and a mere 64 per cent feeling empowered to do their job properly.
London, host to the Olympics and source of national pride, felt a particular drop in engagement, with a quarter of the capital’s workers lacking pride in their organisation, suggesting that employers have failed to harness the many team building opportunities provided by the Olympics.
"It is concerning to see that employees have lost pride in their organisations and this is likely to have a knock on effect for their engagement. At a time when businesses are cutting back on spending and the marketplace is tough, a workforce that is proud and enthused will strive to work harder and produce better results." Zain Wadee, Managing Director at Hyphen.
These figures make disturbing reading, but given the pressure on businesses to ‘do more with less’ in the current climate there is a certain inevitability that employees will be the ones that bear the brunt of any additional pressure to achieve. So as world records are smashed by the Olympians, employers need to remember that although their staff may be expected to deliver an Olympic effort they can only do so much without the support of their coaches, teammates and fans… or employers, colleagues and customers to you and I.
http://staffmotivationmatters.co.uk/team-gb-athletes-take-pride-work-shame-rest-us/
