Who is responsible for employee engagement?

Insights

Who is responsible for employee engagement?

07 October, 2024

4 min read

Engaged employees are crucial to an organization, but who is truly responsible for creating that engagement? Is it the employees themselves, or does the responsibility primarily lie with the manager?

The importance of leadership for engagement and performance

Leadership plays a central role in creating a work environment where employees can both thrive and perform at their best. A manager who actively works on building trust, clarity, and psychological safety lays the foundation for engagement, openness, and collaboration. When employees feel secure enough to share their thoughts and ideas, the organization can benefit from their full potential and foster innovation.

At the same time, the manager is responsible for ensuring that the work environment, both physical and psychosocial, is designed to support employees’ health and well-being. A key task in this is to continuously monitor and address identified risks, for example through employee surveys. By promoting a sustainable work environment, conditions are created for both long-term engagement and improved performance.

The employees’ responsibility and role in driving improvements

Employees also bear a great responsibility for their own engagement and an active role in the workplace. It involves being open, sharing their thoughts and ideas, and daring to express their opinions – even when it is difficult or perhaps sensitive. It may also involve being a good colleague and team player, as we truly are each other’s work environment.

By being clear, open, and providing constructive feedback, employees contribute to a work environment where engagement can grow, for example by actively participating in employee surveys and follow-up discussions. It is not only important to express one’s thoughts and feelings but also to be willing to work on the improvements identified in dialogue with the manager and the team.

A shared responsibility

As illustrated above, the work environment is a shared responsibility between the employer and the employees. We need to understand each other, have mutual trust, and a common understanding of where we are headed and what our goals are. This provides the foundation for high engagement in the workplace, while also driving top performance.

An example of the importance of shared responsibility for engagement is a study by Posner and Schmidt (1993) that investigated how clarity around personal and organizational values affects attitudes and engagement within companies. The study, which involved 1,059 participants, showed that clarity around both personal and company values is crucial. When there was clarity about both the employee’s personal values and the company’s values, engagement increased.

Employee surveys as the foundation for data-driven leadership

Employee surveys provide clear insights into how employees feel and how they perceive their work environment. But surveys are just the first step – it is the manager’s responsibility to take the results seriously and use them as a basis for discussions and actions. By engaging with the results, the manager shows that employees’ opinions are important and that there is a genuine commitment to improving the workplace.

Psychological safety is a key element in this process. When employees feel secure enough to openly share their thoughts and ideas without fear of negative consequences, a culture of trust and innovation is created. Without this safety, the organization risks losing both engagement and talent. It is the manager’s responsibility to foster this safety and ensure that survey results are integrated into daily conversations.

Conclusion

Who is responsible for employee engagement? The answer is that both leaders and employees share this responsibility. The manager plays a central role in creating the right conditions by building a culture of psychological safety, working data-driven, ensuring clarity, and taking responsibility for the work environment. At the same time, employees are responsible for their own engagement by contributing to dialogue, sharing their thoughts, and taking ownership of their own well-being and performance. Strong engagement leads to both better well-being and better results!

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