Is Lack of Employee Engagement Causing Stress?

The State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report,  The voice of the world’s employees is an interesting read, and it clearly shows that Australia’s employees (and world-wide) have high stress levels from lack of engagement and a high percentage are quiet quitting. Although these percentages would not exactly match the NFP sector, the trend is likely to be the same.

This article was originally published at Gembridge.com.au, and the The full report can be found HERE.

Here are the key takeaways from the report…

CEO COMMENTS…

Gallup’s CEO says we need to, “Change the way your people are managed” and that, “In this year’s State of the Global Workplace report, we estimate that low engagement costs the global economy $8.8 trillion. That’s 9% of global GDP.”

STRESS (AUSTRALIA/NZ: 47%)

• Stress levels are at record highs around the globe, and Australian employees have the second highest percentage of daily stress in comparison (47% compared with global 44%).

• “Low engagement is related to higher stress.”

• “Engagement has 3.8 times as much influence on employee stress as work location.”

QUIET QUITTING (AUSTRALIA/NZ: 67%):

• Australia has more quiet quitting than the world average. (67% compared with global 59%)

• “These employees are filling a seat and watching the clock. They put in the minimum effort required, and they are psychologically disconnected from their employer. Although they are minimally productive, they are more likely to be stressed and burnt out than engaged workers because they feel lost and disconnected from their workplace.”

JOB CLIMATE (AUSTRALIA/NZ: 81%)

• Australian employees are well above the rest of the world when thinking now is a good time to find a job, up by 22% from the previous year! (81% compared with global 53%)

• “The increase in available jobs is a positive change for workers. It means that deeply unhappy workers are able to leave bad workplaces, and more workers are able to find work that they like.”

INTENT TO LEAVE (AUSTRALIA/NZ: 43%)

• Although many think it’s a good time to leave, only half this number are actually actively looking. Australia is at 43% compared with global 51%.

• “When people see more job opportunities around them, they are more likely to see another job as a possibility.”

• Gallup analysis found that engaged employees require a significantly higher pay increase to consider taking a job with a different organisation compared with disengaged employees.