Humans are utterly amazing, bursting with potential. Human potential is the only limitless resource available to us.

We are, however, changing the physical world around us so fast that our era has its own geological name, the Anthropocene. Climate change, the destruction of habitats, species loss, plastic pollution, population explosion, economic migration and much more are all upon us.

Never before has it been more important to fully utilise our collective human potential to solve the challenges we face.

Yet tragically at this critical point in our history we are using only a small fraction of this precious resource. The data is truly shocking.

Employee engagement worldwide

According to Gallup’s Global survey, just 13% of us are ‘engaged’ with our work.

‘The bulk of employees worldwide — 63% — are “not engaged,” meaning they lack motivation and are less likely to invest discretionary effort in organisational goals or outcomes. And 24% are “actively disengaged,” indicating they are unhappy and unproductive at work and liable to spread negativity to coworkers.’

Many hundreds of millions of people are utilising only a fraction of their human potential at work. Hundreds of millions more are so disengaged that they are actively undermining the organisations that employ them.

What the cold engagement data hides is the enormity of human suffering in organisational life today. It tells us that too many people are lacking meaning and purpose.

Reasons for employee disengagement:

Feeling undervalued, unhappy with the pace and methods of work.

Suspicious of the superficial, harmful or manipulative nature of the products and services they are bringing into the world.

Don’t feel involved, listened to, creative or resourceful.

Not thanked or challenged to stretch and learn. They are not rewarded properly for what they do.

This is indeed a tragedy, and one that needs a revolution to address.

Now imagine the power and resources available to the well being of planet earth if these people were giving their best selves, their heart and soul. Our world would be transformed!

So what can make the difference?

It is easy to feel dis-empowered in the face of the enormity of the systemic change needed. Let’s look at what we can do.

We can influence ourselves and the teams we work with everyday. This is where the rubber hits the road, where we spend our days communicating with our colleagues, stakeholders and clients. The revolution can begin, one person and one team, one courageous conversation at a time.

Each team is a mini family with its own unique culture driven by personalities, culture and power structures. Just like with any family, sometimes we need to ‘get real’ and talk honestly about the things that matter to bring the changes we long for.

We need to address assumptions, norms, the way power is exercised and decisions taken. We need to create a place where everyone feels truly heard and valued.

The approach we are taking with We-Q, is to provide teams with a simple confidential app which identifies what is working and what is not. It enables each person to have their say within their team in a safe way that builds trust. When we truly listen to each other, to what our hearts and minds are telling us, to the ideas we have for positive change, extraordinary things can happen.

When we are truly aligned to the team’s articulation of a meaningful purpose, when we can fully be ourselves, we can become hyper engaged. People need to be reminded they have homes to go to.

Only when we tap more effectively into the inexhaustible reservoir of our human potential will we transform our destiny into what the author Charles Eisenstein calls ‘The More Beautiful World Our Hearts Know is Possible’.

Engaging employees where disengagement is an issue

If you would like to begin to tackle employee disengagement in your organisation – please fill out the form below and we can get you started with our free trial. The We-Q app can guide you to the important conversations you need to have in order to engage and align your team to the tasks at hand.