Earlier this year, we conducted a global research project with Coleman Parkes Research to dig into the drivers behind employee engagement – and what a lack of engagement may be costing organizations.
One of the key findings from this research is that in the US, the average worker spends 3.4 hours per week on tasks that are not core to his or her core job role. These are tasks that are generally low value and administrative in nature. The opportunity cost of this no-value work adds up to $1,518 per employee per year in the US – for a total of $687 billion across the American workforce.
Other world regions are similarly impacted:
- China: $522 billion;
- Germany: $144.6 billion;
- France: $79 billion;
- United Kingdom: $78 billion;
- Canada: $66 billion;
- Australia and New Zealand: $35 billion;
- Netherlands: $34 billion;
- Belgium: $16.5 billion; and
- Mexico: $2.2 billion.
For more details about what the study revealed, you can access the full US report here.
To learn more about the study and the insights it reveals about drivers of employee engagement, you can view a replay of a webinar of my conversation with Research Director Ian Parkes here.
In this webinar, co-sponsored by HR Executive, we discuss the following topics:
- The increasing complexity of working life and the impact on employee engagement
- The high opportunity cost of time wasted on non-job-related administrative tasks
- How outdated technology is hindering employee productivity and engagement
- Why executives and HR need to focus on building a culture of engagement
Please tune in, then share your ideas about how to improve employee engagement by commenting here.