There's no doubt that employee engagement is a crucial aspect of most companies. Not only does it improve workers' overall wellbeing, but it has been proven to increase employee retention and overall performance. But what happens when employee engagement reaches exorbitant rates?
In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Tomas Chamorrow-Premuzic, CEO of Tulsa, Okla.-based Hogan Assessment Systems, and Lewis Garrad, partner and managing director at Purchase, N.Y.-based Sirota, uncovered the answer.
Here are four downfalls to an overabundance in employee engagement, according to Dr. Chamorrow-Premuzic and Mr. Garrad.
1. Lack of progress. Research cited in the Journal of American Social Psychology proves "people who are optimistic about their performance stop trying to get better," and a study from the Academy of Management Journal shows that "frustrated and dissatisfied people tend to find creative breakthroughs when incentivized and supported in the right way," according to HBR. If a workforce is overly engaged, they could become too arrogant and fail to be innovative.
2. Employee burnout. Becoming too engaged in a job can be harmful to one's physical health, research in Ergonomics shows. On top of that, over-engagement can harm workers' family lives and ruin their job performance.
3. Unfair treatment from management. Dr. Chamorrow-Premuzic's research has proven that naturally optimistic, extroverted personality types are often more engaged at work. More pessimistic, introverted individuals may not consider engagement as crucial to their performance. Employers should be sure to treating both personality types equally regardless of their engagement levels.
4. Disregarding the pros of negative mindsets. Research in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology shows "people experiencing negative moods are often more persistent than those who are in more positive mindsets," according to HBR. Instead of amping up morale and pushing every employee to be peppy, employers should take note of the advantages of more pessimistic individuals, including their drive and focus.