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Are You Engaged at Work? Probably Not

Can you honestly say that you are happy at work? If you answered yes to that question then congratulations, you belong to a small demographic of gainfully employed individuals fully committed to their role at work. A new study released by Gallup on the State of the Global Workplace found that only one in eight workers worldwide -- or 13 percent -- feels "engaged."
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(r/ally) Can you honestly say that you are happy at work? If you answered 'Yes' to that question then congratulations, you belong to a small demographic of gainfully employed individuals fully committed to their role at work.

A new study released by Gallup on the State of the Global Workplace found that only one in eight workers worldwide -- or 13 percent -- feels "engaged," meaning passionate about their role and maintaining a profound connection to their employer.

A whopping 63 per cent revealed that they were "not engaged" with their jobs. These employees are essentially "sleepwalking" through their day, putting in their time but without passion.

The remaining 24 per cent admitted to being "actively disengaged." This lot not only acts actively unhappy at work, they undermine the efforts of their engaged colleagues by spreading their negative energies to others in the organization.

The data, which polled over 220,000 respondents in 142 countries, found that the happiest workers were mostly in the U.S. and Canada, where 29 per cent of the workforce felt engaged. The unhappiest workers were found in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA), where 35 per cent felt "actively disengaged."

The 13 per cent of engaged employees in 2011-12 shows a slight improvement from Gallup's study in 2009-2010, which showed only 11 percent of global employees felt committed to their workplace. However, the non-engaged group grew by one per cent in that time frame.

Despite general worker dissatisfaction, there's good reason to worry about these continuously poor engagement rates. Gallup ties engagement rates with specific performance outcomes, including: profitability, productivity, turnover, safety, theft, absenteeism and quality of work. Companies with engaged workforces demonstrated higher earnings per share (EPS) and recovered from the recession at a faster rate, according to Gallup research.

"Business leaders worldwide must raise the bar on employee engagement," wrote Steve Crabtree, a writer for Gallup."Increasing workplace engagement is vital to achieving sustainable growth for companies, communities, and countries -- and for putting the global economy back on track to a more prosperous and peaceful future."

So how engaged are you as an employee? See how you would you answer Gallup's 12 questions:

1. I know what is expected of me at work.

2. I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right.

3. At work, I have the opportunity to do what I do best every day.

4. In the last seven days, I have received recognition or praise for doing good work.

5. My supervisor, or someone at work, seems to care about me as a person.

6. There is someone at work who encourages my development.

7. At work, my opinions seem to count.

8. The mission or purpose of my company makes me feel my job is important.

9. My associates or fellow employees are committed to doing quality work.

10. I have a best friend at work.

11. In the last six months,someone at work has talked to me about my progress.

12. This last year, I have had opportunities at work to learn and grow.

By Nicel Jane Avellana, contributor at r/ally, the mobile collaboration platform that lets you socialize your goals.

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