When someone says the words “employee engagement,” what comes to mind? Is a workplace that has engaged employees one where everyone is so in love with their jobs they all stay back or log in late to reach their KPIs? Or a workplace where everyone just agrees and gets along? Employee engagement is all about unlocking discretionary effort and getting employees to give their all for the business… right?

Wrong.

This approach to employee engagement really looks at work life from the employer’s point of view. The "what’s in it for me" prioritizes what the business will gain from having an engaged workforce. And while that’s important, it’s not the only half of the equation.

A "what's in it for me?" mentality can hurt employee engagement. Organizations can increase employee engagement by focusing on improving the relationship between employer and employee and creating an environment and culture built on mutual success and open and honest communication.

Employee engagement comes down to the relationship between the employee and employer. It’s about creating an environment and culture where success for one means success for the other. Both need to be aligned and bought into the other for both to benefit from the relationship. Read more here.