Many people don’t expect work to be something they enjoy; it’s called work for a reason, right? It might even feel normal to leave work and head home without any sense of fulfilment or accomplishment. However, before you think about improving engagement, you need to be able to answer the question, ‘what does it mean to be engaged at work?’

In an article, ‘What does it mean to be engaged at work: 7 ways to increase learner engagement’, the author says that employee engagement doesn’t just describe how hard your employees work. It doesn’t have much to do with the amount of overtime they’re willing to put in.  Engaged employees understand the mission of the organisation. They’re more invested in that mission, to the point where the goal of the company and their own goals are one and the same.’

Organisations today rely on commitment, drive and the engagement of their workforce to survive and thrive. Disengaged employees may lead to decreased morale and loss of revenue.

Employees are said to be engaged in their work if and only if they are emotionally invested in committing their time, talent and energy so as to add value to their team, and advance the organisation’s missions and goals.

Human resource professionals say that being engaged at work means putting everything you have into the company’s goals. The more engaged your people are at work, the more they’ll get done.

Gallup, an annual report in Forbes, offers workforce advice to help leaders, organisations and countries around the world adapt and win in today’s global marketplace.

The global report defines the types of engagement at the workplace. According to its global 2016 report, 15 per cent of a single company’s workforce is engaged, loyal and emotionally committed. Their talents are truly leveraged and they even take on tasks outside their job description.

67 per cent, according to the report, are employees who are relatively happy and satisfied with their jobs, but they do minimum without being invested in the company’s mission, vision, values and goals. Most of them are not concerned with the company’s profitability and productivity.

On the other hand, there remains 18 per cent who make up a group of actively disengaged people, creating a toxic and negative environment.

Boosting employee engagement

There is an opportunity to master the art of engagement within an organisation. According to Mable Mirembe, a human resource professional, it is still possible to boost engagement at work, and she offers a few tips.

"First of all, you need to know the goals, mission and vision of your organisation. As long as you do not know where you are heading, you will never be interested,” she explains.

"Clarifying goals and responsibilities is vital if you intend to increase employee engagement within your organisation.”

Shalom Azabe, is also of the view that communicating always is key to achieving engagement at the workplace as it tops up the needed information to excel.

"Always get in touch, know what is trending, what is next and keep being updated. This will help you excel and get more engaged in what you are doing,” she says.

Mirembe adds that feedback can also boost engagement.

"Try to reach out for feedback from your supervisor, but also welcome it. It will help you grow and identify your weaknesses”, she adds.

Celebrate your progress

Jessica Lindsey in her article, ‘How to be more engaged at work’, writes; ‘The progress you make each day also contributes to engagement. When we make progress towards goals that matter to us, we feel motivated to continue; they call this pattern of progress-furthering-progress a "progress loop.”

This means that even "small wins” can make us feel good and inspire us to get more done. Conversely, small setbacks can stifle motivation, spur a loop of negative feelings, and reduce progress the following day.

Create space for flow

Flow states are arguably the pinnacle of engagement at work. Flow occurs when a person is completely immersed in an activity—they lose a sense of time and forget about demands from the outside world that are not related to the task at hand. In a state of flow, we love what we are doing; we feel invigorated, in control, and appropriately challenged, writes Lindsey.

‘We all want to feel happy and engaged at work, and leave the office with a sense of meaningful accomplishment. While achieving this takes effort and you may not see changes overnight, improvement in even a single component of engagement will help you move closer to that goal,’ the aforementioned article states.