Factors that influence employee engagement are varied and very diverse. While there are some that depend on the prevailing culture within the organisation, there are also common threads for all individuals, and also individual factors that can significantly influence a person's relationship with colleagues and their organisation. Take a look through our list of factors influencing engagement and see which ones you can apply to your own organisation or your own team members.

Quality of relationships with…

• COLLEAGUES and peers
• the LINE MANAGER
• the ORGANISATION
• people OUTSIDE THE ORGANISATION (e.g. suppliers, press)

The relationship with the line manager

• How much AUTONOMY does the line manager provide?
• Does the line manager TRUST the employee?
• Does the line managers MICROMANAGE the employee?
• Can the employee MANAGE THEIR OWN WORKLOAD?
• Does the line manage provide OPPORTUNITIES FOR LEARNING?
• Feedback is DESIRED BUT NEVER GIVEN
• Feedback is CRITICAL AND NON-CONSTRUCTIVE

Career

• Lack of opportunities for PROMOTION OR ADVANCEMENT
• Stagnation in LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES both informal and formal

Behaviours

• The extent to which people in the organisation display CITIZENSHIP BEHAVIOURS
• Whether DIVERSITY AND DIFFERENCE create distance or create closeness
• Do people work towards PERSONAL GOALS ONLY OR TEAM GOALS?

Organisation

• The perception of the QUALITY of the products the organisation produces
• Does the employee understand the VISION of the organisation?
• The extent to which the COMPANY VISION TRANSLATES TO WHAT THE EMPLOYEE DOES
• The perception of how much their individual CONTRIBUTION is making a difference
• To what extent is the organisation ADAPTING TO SOCIETAL CHANGES?
• The degree to which staff TRUST SENIOR LEADERS
• The organisation is mature and adept when it comes to SHARING INFORMATION, INCLUDING FINANCIAL INFORMATION

Recruitment

• The job sold at interview DOES NOT GEL WITH REALITY
• The CULTURE is found to be INCOMPATIBLE WITH THE INDIVIDUAL'S BELIEFS OR NEEDS

Reward and recognition

• The perception of FAIRNESS with regard salary and benefits
• Feeling IGNORED OR TAKEN FOR GRANTED

Wellbeing

• The degree to which people have WORK-LIFE BALANCE
• How much the person feels SUPPORTED in their personal needs e.g. family care
• AMOUNT OF WORK does not match of time available
• CHRONIC STRESS due to workload or other factors not managed by the organisation

Personal

• Does the employee TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR WORKPLACE PROBLEMS OR BLAME OTHERS?
• The degree of RESILIENCE the employee can call upon
• To what extent does the employee have a GROWTH MINDSET?
• Does the employee TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR OWN LEARNING?

References:

• Report: Locus of Engagement, CIPD, 2011
• Report: The Drivers of Employee Engagement, Institute of Employment Studies, 2004
• Presentation: Disengaged—Engaged Employees The Impact on Your Culture, Association for Talent Development
• Report: What causes employee disengagement?, Blytheco