Understanding Employee Engagement
Employee engagement should not be equated to bait in the form of refreshments given to an employee to make them shoulder extra workload. Paying for overtime or offering tea and snacks in return for staying late at work are not considered employee engagement activities, even though employees may feel satisfied with these perks. A satisfied employee does not necessarily equate to an engaged employee. An engaged employee is one who feels emotionally connected to their job and takes ownership of it.
To illustrate this point, let me share a short story. While on his way to the office, a man came across two individuals at a construction site breaking large stones into small pieces. He asked one of them, "What are you doing here?" The first person responded, "I am breaking this large stone into small bits so it can be used for laying the foundation." The man posed the same question to the other person, who replied, "I am constructing a Church, so I am breaking this large stone into small bits to lay the foundation for it." This simple story highlights the distinction between an engaged employee and a regular one.
Regards, Saikumar