Employee engagement shall not be equated to a bait in the form of refreshment to an employee to make him shoulder him extra work load. Paying OT or offering tea and samosa in return for sitting late for work are not employee engagement activities though the employees feel satisfied with what they are getting for sitting late. A satisfied employee need not be an engaged employee If an employee feels emotionally connected with his job and owns it, he can be said to be an engaged employee.
Though at the risk of repletion, I again would like to narrate a small story to illustrate the point. A man, while on his way to the office, found two persons at a construction site, breaking large stones into
small bits.he stopped and asked one of them 'what are you doing here?'. He replied that Iam breaking this large stone into small bits so that it can be used for laying foundation. He repeated the same question to the other person who replied " I am constructing a Church and therefore Iam breaking this large stone into small bits for laying foundation for it.".That is the difference between the engaged employee and normal one.
B.Saikumar
HR & Labour Law advisor
Navi Mumbai