I just read a report published by Modern Survey discussing the results of their periodic employee engagement study. Their study showed that employee engagement in the U.S. dropped in February 2010 from the previous measure last August. Prior to that, it had increased from an earlier measurement in August 2008. They concluded that it was the strain of the 2009 economic recession that caused this decline. I suspect that they are correct. What will 2010 bring?

Back in October 2001, The Loyalty Institute conducted a special follow-up study to assess the impact of September 11th on employee commitment. We found a dramatic increase in employee commitment from the previous measurement in the spring. However, at our next regular assessment in March 2002 the increase was gone. Commitment was back to where it had been prior to September 11th. Were we surprised? Not really.

So, why did one event cause an increase and one cause a decrease? The tragic events of September 11th had nothing to do with the employer-employee dynamic. It was an event that was external to the normal working environment. After a few months its impacts waned. The recession of 2009, however, did have an impact on the employer-employee dynamic. People were laid off. Workloads increased. Promotions and pay raises were reduced or even suspended. Employees were constantly in fear of being laid off. Many of these changes were made without input from employees and with little advance communication. Trust in management took a beating.

Recent news shows that unemployment may be leveling off and that organizations may be getting ready to hire again. Will things get back to normal? Is there a new normal? I don’t have a crystal ball, but I think that a lot will depend on how organizations behave in the upturn. If they are clear about their strategy and the role that employees will play, then engagement may snap back to where it was. If they keep information to a minimum and let employees fear the worst, then engagement will stay low or even drop. Employees will move on to other organizations and the cycle will begin again.