All Eyes on Ohio

In their pitched battle for the White House, President Bush and Senator John Kerry are devoting much attention to hotly contested states, trying to discern voter attitudes -- particularly toward the economy. They might want to note the mood of workers in one key battleground state, Ohio, where Gallup recently conducted an employee engagement survey.

Gallup's study of Ohio workers revealed that engaged employees -- those who are loyal and psychologically committed to their organizations -- are 4.5 times more likely to be satisfied with Ohio as a place to live than are actively disengaged employees -- workers who are disenchanted and disaffected in the workplace. And engaged employees are 4.2 times more likely to recommend their area as a place to live to a friend or colleague than are their actively disengaged counterparts. (See sidebar "The Three Types of Employees.")

What's more, compared to actively disengaged workers, engaged employees are also more optimistic about their personal lives, tend not to bring workplace stress home, and have more positive feelings about the local economy.

This connection between workplace engagement and outlook on life was revealed in the Ohio Engagement Index, a survey of 989 Ohio workers conducted by The Gallup Organization from November 2003 to January 2004. The survey included Gallup's 12 items on employee engagement as well as a series of questions about community, life satisfaction, and the economy. (See sidebar "The 12 Elements of Great Managing.")

"This compelling research shows that we as human beings don't compartmentalize our lives. We don't say, 'I'm this way at home,' or 'I have this personality when I am at work,'" remarks Curt Coffman, Gallup's global practice leader for employee engagement and coauthor of Follow This Path. "This says that the degree to which we feel engaged in our jobs significantly permeates all parts of our lives. It affects workers' hopes for the future success of their companies and how they feel about their economic future. It affects their satisfaction with the quality of life within the area that they live, the degree to which stress causes them to behave poorly with their family and friends, and the pride they feel about their companies, communities, and state."

Ohio's workers report engagement levels remarkably similar to those of workers around the United States, with 30% of Ohio's workers engaged -- loyal and psychologically committed to their organizations, 53% not engaged -- productive but simply not as committed to their jobs, and 17% actively disengaged -- unhappy with their work situations and sharing their unhappiness with their colleagues. These numbers compare favorably with the most recent U.S. Employee Engagement Index numbers of 29% engaged, 54% not engaged, and 17% actively disengaged. (See "Getting Personal in the Workplace" in See Also.)

The Ohio Engagement Index has provided valuable insight into the effects of engagement on the lives of Ohio's workers inside and outside of their companies. Engaged employees in Ohio feel much more positive about their organizations than actively disengaged workers do -- they are 4.9 times as confident in their company's financial future and 5.3 times as likely to recommend their company's products and services to friends or family.

Gallup's research also confirms that productivity is a key outcome of workplace engagement. Compared to actively disengaged workers, engaged employees are 2.2 times as likely to think their job performance has improved in the past year. Ohio workers also confirm the strong link between engagement and retention: Engaged workers are 2.6 times more likely than actively disengaged workers to plan on working for their current companies one year from now, and they are 4.2 times more likely to plan to spend their careers with their current companies.

Jim Bennett, a former senior executive with KeyCorp and a longtime Cleveland civic leader, recommends that civic and business leaders recognize that economic development begins with individual companies' employees and then spreads to the larger community. "Much progress in economic development is achieved one company at a time by improving employee engagement," Bennett says. "This will be a more effective focus of civic initiatives than large, capital-intensive projects. If we are to engage citizens of a community, we should start with treating communities like businesses. We must build on strengths."

Gallup's research in Ohio finds that employees with managers who focus on their strengths or positive characteristics are almost 13 times more likely to be engaged. Companies that begin to channel energy into putting their employees in roles best suited for their talents, encouraging them to do what they do best on a daily basis, and implementing recognition programs should successfully increase their levels of employee engagement.

According to Coffman, "Developing productive and engaged employees is not just good for the employee and the business, it is good for our local, state, and national economy."

Results of this survey are based on a nationally representative sample of about 989 employed adults aged 18 and older. Interviews were conducted by telephone November 2003 - January 2004 by The Gallup Organization. For results based on samples of this size, one can say with 95% confidence that the error attributable to sampling and other random effects could be plus or minus three percentage points. For findings based on subgroups, the sampling error would be greater.