Culture | 5 min read

Why Employee Engagement is Crucial For Flex Workers

By The Nowsta Team, 22 August 2022

A page from a notebook with the word Employee Engagement on the desk

Many businesses have comprehensive employee engagement programs to keep their workers motivated and dedicated. However, these efforts are usually focused on fixed-wage workers rather than shift workers. When it comes to job satisfaction, career advancement, and increasing employee retention rates, hourly staff are often overlooked.

With shift workers making up a majority of our workforce today, it’s important to ensure they are happy. By investing as much effort into hourly employees as you do for salaried workers, you can keep shift workers actively engaged and improve your bottom line too.

Why You Should Focus On Flex Workers

Employee engagement is crucial because it builds dedication in team members to bring out their best and helps achieve your organization’s goals and mission.

Increased Employee Satisfaction

If you can genuinely engage your shift workers, they will be more satisfied with their job. A paycheck is not their only concern; shift workers want to know that you care about them and will meet their needs.

Lower Turnover Rates

You want your shift employees to stick around. When you focus on accommodating their needs, fewer employees will cycle in and out. Rather than finding, assessing, and training new hires—which requires a significant amount of time, money, and other resources—focus on the employees you have by creating an engaging environment.

Increased Productivity and Improved Performance

Engaged shift workers produce higher quality work, are absent less frequently, and are more efficient. The reason? They’re invested in their job and want to perform well.

Increased Organizational Success

A shift worker who is satisfied will inevitably make your team stronger and help boost company morale. As a result, you will be better equipped to hit your targets. According to Gallup data, businesses with engaged workforces achieve earnings-per-share growth that is more than four times that of their competitors. Unfortunately, that study also showed that 87% of employees worldwide are not engaged.

5 Reasons Shift Workers Often Feel Disengaged at Work

1. Unsatisfactory Pay

One of the main reasons people seek other job opportunities is because they’re underpaid. But does financial compensation also affect engagement levels? Absolutely. When employees aren’t earning enough, they are more likely to be discouraged and disengaged in the workplace.

2. Lack of Career Development

When an employee isn’t offered the chance to advance their career or learn new skills, they may lose interest in their job. Fostering a sense of autonomy, purpose, and progress is crucial for keeping employees involved. When that’s missing from their role and employees feel held back, their productivity decreases and engagement steeply declines.

3. Poor Management

Ineffective management leads to high rates of employee dissatisfaction. Managers who lack organization skills or who fail to respect and encourage staff affect morale and stress levels. When morale is low, accomplishments go unacknowledged, and needs are not met, employees lose interest and become disengaged.

4. Stressful Workplace

It’s no secret that workplaces are stressful. Workplace burnout not only impacts your shift workers, but also negatively impacts your bottom line. When employees are overworked, it can lead to increased sick leave, decreased productivity, and more. Employers must recognize the factors that may be contributing to stress levels. If they don’t, employees may not feel valued, causing them to disengage.

5. The Wrong Fit for the Company

Employees are a company’s biggest asset. However, they can also be the main reason for its demise, especially if they are not engaged. While organizations seek to make the best hiring choices, it can be hard to evaluate a new hire before they join the team. If a shift worker doesn’t fit in with the company culture, it can have a boomerang effect on the entire staff. Likewise, if the employee feels that a workplace is not ideal for them, it may cause them to become actively disengaged.

How Nowsta Can Help

It is clear that employee engagement for shift workers is critical for both your employee’s and your company’s success. Nowsta provides all the tools you need to simplify and streamline managing your existing workers.

With Nowsta, you can create an employee engagement strategy that succeeds and watch your employees—and your business—thrive.

To learn more about how Nowsta can help, contact a Nowsta expert today.