MSLOC Faculty Members Reflect on Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report
Last week, Gallup released the 2024 edition of their State of the Global Workplace: The Voice of The World’s Employees report. Below, Northwestern MSLOC faculty and staff members share their reflections on key findings from the report, which found that, globally, “overall employee wellbeing declined” in 2023.
In their analysis of factors playing into employee wellbeing, on many items - stress, anger, worry, and loneliness - “being actively disengaged at work is equivalent to or worse than being unemployed.” The antidote, according to Gallup’s findings, is employees finding “their work and work relationships meaningful.” Dr. Kimberly Scott, MSLOC executive director and assistant professor, has conducted and published research on employee wellbeing and meaning-making, including her 2019 article on “Making Sense of Work: Finding Meaning in Work Narratives.”1 In her article, Scott shares that “employers that provide a variety of opportunities for people to learn, exercise mastery, achieve their goals, and use their skills on the job could improve their employees’ chances of finding meaning in their work.” In reviewing the latest Gallup findings, Scott reflected that the evidence shows that managers, and the organizational systems they work in, “should focus their attention and efforts on supporting their employees to define, articulate and find professional meaning and purpose for themselves, rather than trying to design blanket internal employee initiatives aiming to create meaning for them. From job crafting, to providing access to coaching, to facilitating supportive manager relationships, leaders who position employees to write their own work stories will drive better outcomes.”
Dr. Michelle Albaugh, MSLOC associate director of coaching, zeroed in on the findings related to managers, who, according to the Gallup report, account globally for “70% of the variance in team employee engagement.” While we often hear the truism that “people leave managers, not jobs,” Albaugh reflected on the findings that “managers experience higher levels of negative emotions than non-managers" and that, despite their relative hierarchical power, sometimes managers need the highest levels of wellbeing support. Albaugh expanded on that, saying that “managers, depending on their level in the organization, often find themselves in a messy middle of a typical organizational hierarchy, where they are trying their best to both to carry out directives from above and lead and develop the people who report to them. It’s no wonder they experience higher levels of negative emotions.” Albaugh went on to share, “as leadership coaches, we see it all the time. The support we provide managers can not only improve the manager’s own wellbeing but equip them with the leadership mindsets, managerial skills, and relationship competencies they need to positively impact their team members’ wellbeing.” When Albaugh educates coaches on successful “manager as coach” practices, one of the building blocks of those practices is “how to move from catch-up conversations to coaching conversations. Instead of getting in a rhythm (or rut) of trading work updates, managers can use coaching skills to better understand their team members and deliver real-time feedback (whether affirming or constructive) in ways that allow those colleagues to find meaning and develop purpose through their work. These two elements support wellbeing and engagement.”
The effects of regional job markets on employee engagement caught the attention of Diane Knoepke, MSLOC director of engagement and outreach, who serves as the lead career coach for the program, coaching and advising students and alumni. The Gallup report found that “better job markets are associated with lower active disengagement,” while “poor job markets are highly correlated with active disengagement.” Knoepke shared that, in her experience, “a feeling of being stuck or trapped in a job can certainly contribute to employees’ devaluation of, and disengagement with, the job they are in. While most of us cannot influence the overall job market in our area, we can affect our sense of agency within our roles and careers.” Mirroring Kimberly Scott’s comments above about supporting employees’ self-determination in their roles, Knoepke advised that “managers and employees, especially those working in tough job markets, try to highlight and expand team members’ professional choices and agility. Ideally, they can then exercise choice and agility within their current roles to improve their engagement while they are in the role.”
1Scott, K. S. (2019). Making sense of work: Finding meaning in work narratives. Journal of Management & Organization, 28(5), 1057–1077. https://doi.org/10.1017/jmo.2019.43
Northwestern University's Master of Science in Learning and Organizational Change (MSLOC) equips leaders with the vision, knowledge, and skills to facilitate sustainable, positive organizational transformation. MSLOC is part of Northwestern's School of Education and Social Policy which is a catalyst for positive change. As established leaders in educational design, learning at all ages, and social policy, we produce pathbreaking research, offer exceptional educational opportunities, and serve our local and global communities through mutually beneficial collaborations and partnerships. To learn more about the school’s programs, visit sesp.northwestern.edu/programs.