As any manager knows, employee engagement is the foundation of a productive business. Striking the equilibrium between reliable routines and repetitive business day-to-day can be difficult to effectively manage. This delicate balance requires awareness, engaging tasks, and of course, the right technology to boost creativity and stability in the employee engagement process.
We’ve all been there. You’re stuck in a rut. Going through the motions at work and feeling as though you aren’t producing anything of value. You can’t help but feel disinterested and (whether you care to admit it or not) you have checked out.
It might seem like a harmless case of “the Mondays”, but studies have shown that if an employee is not taken care of, then it is a slippery slope to underachievement and a decrease in employee engagement.
So how can you tell the difference between a bored and complacent workforce? How are they manifested? What can you do to avoid them?
Boredom & complacency, what is the difference?
According to the Udemy Workplace Boredom Study, “actively disengaged employees cost the US economy $450 to $559 billion in lost productivity per year”. Boredom and complacency are early warning signs of widespread disengagement that can negatively affect an organization’s bottom line.
Employee engagement is the key component in productivity, so it is important to understand the difference between boredom and complacency and how it is relative to engagement. At first glance, it may appear that they stem from the same cause – lack of interest and/or ability. However, they are quite different.
Boredom can be defined as ‘I can, but I don’t want to’ and complacency can be defined as ‘I can, but I won’t try hard’.
All in all, boredom arises from feeling unsatisfied or unchallenged at work meaning that teams don’t want to actively engage in their work and organizational communities. When left untreated, this eventually bleeds into complacency, which involves a lack of enthusiasm or motivation due to comfort. Of course, this in turn can negatively translate into reduced productivity, negative growth, and a drop in revenue.
How can boredom and complacency create disengagement?
Statistics say that boredom leads to low retention, which affects cost and business performance. With disengaged employees, there is a 37% higher likeliness of absenteeism, 18% likeliness of lower productivity and employees are twice as likely to leave a company than companies whose workforce are engaged.
There are three main causes of boredom in the workplace:
- Lack of opportunity to learn new skills (46%)
- Unstimulating work (44%)
- Lack of work to complete (30%)
Ultimately, boredom at work is predominantly caused by unstimulating and flawed work organization. This could be due to poor distribution of tasks, lack of recognition for employee skills, or monotonous assignments with little effective communication from managers.
Are employees uninspiring in their interactions? Is lack of communication leading to stalled progress or lack of collaboration? All of these are tell-tale signs that your workforce may be having issues with feeling mentally and emotionally invested in the projects they are working on. It could also be a sign that their tasks lack variety or challenge, making them feel unchallenged and stifled by routine.
It’s up to organizations to encourage stimulating work and provide new opportunities to increase employee engagement and productivity. If not addressed, both issues lead to decreased efficiency and potential erosion of morale.
Tips on keeping your workforce engaged
- Promoting personal development
When it comes to employee engagement, personal development is key. Investing in and supplying opportunities for personal growth not only boosts morale but can also be beneficial for the company; employees will be more knowledgeable and motivated to tackle their tasks when they have access to quality training materials and resources.
The Udemy Workplace Boredom Study found that the best way to tackle workplace boredom is to promote learning opportunities within your workforce, with 61% of employees saying that they feel more engaged knowing their professional development is being invested in.
Ultimately, it is vital to keep a healthy balance between trust and supervision within the office alongside clear lines of effective communication, ensuring your employee engagement in their roles and responsibilities – making job satisfaction the central focus of the workplace.
“Career opportunities matter. Today most companies are going through a ‘crew shift’ as boomer generation employees retire, and millennials and young people enter management and high-value positions. Younger folks are motivated by growth, career opportunity, and meaning,” according to Josh Bersin of Bersin by Deloitte
- Giving employees innovative resources
In the era of digitization, businesses are presented with unique opportunities to boost productivity and employee engagement. For example, by providing innovative technologies and resources at work, such as cloud-based video streaming applications or interactive collaboration platforms, these businesses can ensure that their employees stay motivated and always try to do their best. This novel approach to workplace activities offers a great way for businesses to break away from complacency and boredom in the workplace and further build on employee engagement – allowing them to access greater levels of productivity. As mentioned in Jugo’s article on ‘Why the employee experience is key’, closing the tech gap and providing innovative tools to teams, ensures that employees feel purpose-driven, and aligned with their organizations.
Jugo leverages the power of the Chime and Unreal Engine’s most innovative technology, meaning that you can present, meet, and captivate your workforce with every interaction. Live video audience Q&A and polls, emojis, and direct and open chat – between employees and directors alike – mean your message is not only heard but engaged.
Increase employee engagement by bringing your virtual meetings and day-to-day team coversations to life. Focus on your workforce experience and then the rest will fall into place. Check out more on our Jugo Experiences page.
- Creating a platform for employees to collaborate
Creating a platform for employees to share their ideas can be essential to keeping work interesting. After all, it is when we put our new ideas and creativity into action that complacency takes a backseat and boredom is kicked to the curb.
With Jugo Meetings, people can come together, explore fresh perspectives, and proudly take ownership of their minds’ hard labor on using innovative communication software. And hopefully – hand in hand with increased employee engagement – it will provide a springboard for new projects and encourage employees to think bigger than ever before!
- Praise and commend employees for their work
Rather than letting employee productivity slip into a stale routine of complacency, employers can engage their employees by heaping praise and commendation on their hard work. Acknowledging successful efforts allows team members to feel like part of something bigger; it not only motivates them to do better but is also sure to sideline the tedium of boredom that can hurt employee engagement. Commending employees for a job well done often leads to an even more productive and successful workplace – one that values employee effort and focus.
In conclusion, employees should never underestimate the effects of boredom and complacency on work performance.
Even though they may appear similar, they are two different things, and having the ability to differentiate between the two will be beneficial in tackling any disengagement issues that may arise. By familiarizing ourselves with how boredom or complacency manifests itself in our workers, and by implementing great initiatives like Jugo’s know-how resources, teams can make sure that engagement is always at an optimal level – regardless of whether it’s due to increased challenge or a much-needed bit of excitement! So don’t succumb to a world of disengagement. Instead, face each day with enthusiasm and explore innovative ways to improve employee engagement. Let Jugo be your guide so you can turn boring tasks into more interesting ones and use it as an opportunity for growth!
So, take a demo of Jugo today and take advantage of the resources that provide ways for teams to boost employee engagement.
