The Great Disengagement

by Theodore Williams

The Great Disengagement of the Jamaican Workforce is an impediment to productivity.

Jamaica for decades has been gripped with lower levels of productivity. Jamaica Productivity Centre reported that since the early-1970s, Jamaican labour productivity has declined an average of nearly 1.5 percent a year, the combined productivity of Jamaica's resources (that is Labour, capital, energy and other inputs) declined by an average annual rate of 1.75 percent over the same period.

Many views have been tabled for this plague to in include crime, energy cost, access to capital, government policies, et al. However, one important variable that always seems secondary, is the engagement level of the workforce. Let's face it, a lot of people can't wait until Friday or their next day off from work. Hashtags like #ThankGoditsFriday and #Friyah are quite common on social media. Some company closes at 4:30 PM, and if you call or visit at 4:25 PM, you're out of luck. It's even worse when you look at customer service in Jamaica.

For us to adequately ventilate and measure the impact of employee engagement on productivity, we must first define both terms. Paul Krugman, a renowned economist, defines productivity “as a ratio between the output volume and the volume of inputs. In other words, it measures how efficiently production inputs, such as labour and capital, are being used in an economy to produce a given level of output." The output is typically measured in revenues and gross domestic product (GDP). Employment Engagement according to Gallup is "a positive, energised state of mind that stems from both cognitive and emotional investment of personal energy that is focused on transforming task, team goal an or organisational outcome into meaningful business objective". If workers are motivated, engaged, love their jobs then ultimately that will transcend into increase productivity.

 Recently, the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) conducted a study and found that more than half of the respondents (53.7%) either expressed negative or ambiguous perceptions concerning: satisfaction and loyalty, support and recognition, empowerment and compensation and benefits. They concluded that a high percentage of Jamaican workers (52%) were either uncertain about their satisfaction and loyalty with their organisation or they were outright dissatisfied with their situation. Overall, the survey found that more than half of the respondents had ‘average’ level engagement. Approximately 31% demonstrated ‘high’ level of engagement while about 4% showed ‘very high’ engagement. This should not surprise us as the global engagement level averages around 60%, according to Gallup. The question we should ask ourselves is what does a low engaged Jamaican workforce look and feel like, and its impact on a company’s brand and ultimately Profit and Loss Statement (P&L).

From observation, workers seem to be in a trance-like state where they blindly follow procedures. In some cases, they cut corners resulting in significant losses through re-work and lost revenue The culture of work in Jamaica has not made it any easier for us to drive employee engagement and productivity. The plantation system mentality has embedded a strong culture of distrust between worker and employer.  As a society, we have too many pockets of indiscipline. The roots can be traced back to the plantation systems where indiscipline evolved as

part of our culture, creating the consummate rebel with a cause. Also, there is still the view that work is just a means to an end. Essentiality, workers pretend to work, while companies pretend to pay. Some lower-level workers, still maintain the view that without the right skin colour, family name, address, or favour for your boss, one can't move up the ladder.

Many leaders understand these challenges but try to avoid it as it's sensitive and there is no magic bullet with a solution. Instead, they seek to ensure that their organisations create policies that are at a minimum in keeping with applicable legislations and push for business results. On the other hand, workers give the minimum just enough not to be fired. This reality while frightening seriously impacts our ability to drive productivity. When will workers truly see themselves as ambassadors for their companies? Will there ever be a time when workers, without force, be happy and willing to go the extra mile to solve a business problem or please a customer? For many, answering these questions in the affirmative is an elusive dream. The gap between the expected culture of work and the reality is a deepening sinkhole.

Companies will have to think differently about how they galvanise their teams to support a broader vision. The tech companies have done a tremendous job at employee engagement, and it’s something local employers should look at modelling best practices where applicable. Tech companies foster a culture of innovation, take fringe benefits to another level, and give employees greater autonomy. Business leaders should seriously consider confronting employee engagement issues head-on. The struggle for many is always how. The sad truth is that everything rises and falls with, leadership - employee engagement is no different. The International Journal of Business and Management noted that employee engagement requires leadership commitment through establishing a clear mission, vision, and values. The journal noted that unless the people at the top believe in it, own it, pass it down to managers and employees, and enhance their leadership, employee engagement will never be more than just a “corporate fad” or “another HR thing”.

Communication is also an opportunity, evidently, because of the trust deficit, managers often don’t get honest feedback from employees. Companies have to be innovative in how they solicit feedback and build trust among team members. This will empower employees to solve problems and drive business success. Gone are the days when information is top-down and on a needs to know basis. Technology is moving super-fast, and workers are smarter than ever. The grapevine is no longer the water cooler but WhatsApp groups where information is shared real-time in various formats. Leaders need to learn it all and not know it all. Leaders can no longer talk at employees but listen and clear roadblocks. Most importantly is to action the feedback received, nothing eats away leaders’ credibility than being unresponsive. Collaboration can’t be just another nice word, but a real desired behaviour. Such actions will drive a sense of ownership among employees, which is key for employee engagement. A strong recognition programme is also a must-have.

Employees want to feel connect and they want a voice. It’s time for us to make work fun! We must create opportunities for employees to get to know each other, it's no secret that people prefer to do business with who they know, like and trust.

Whilst business leaders have a pivot role to play, the Government cannot negate their reasonability to drive productivity. President and CEO of NCB Financial Group (NCBFG), Patrick Hylton in 2010 proposed that 'greater attention should be paid to training a highly-skilled Jamaican workforce capable of attracting higher-level investments and moving the country away from the low-skills/low-pay formula, which he insisted does not contribute optimally toward national development'. Almost a decade later, not much has changed, education is still underfunded. Dennis Chung, then CEO of the Private Sector Organisation of Jamaica, in a 2017 article, 'Fixing Jamaica's labour productivity problem', emphasised the need to train more technical people. Social anthropologist, Dr. Herbert Gayle cited a study that his team conducted, concluded that only 6% percent of males at the Tertiary level had someone funding their education. Besides being unfunded, there is a need for greater alignment of skills development with the current and future labour market needs. If the education system fails to disseminate relevant skills, then employers will not have the human resources they need for the production of goods and services. There is a strong clear link between human capital, employee engagement, decent work and productivity. If our workforce is educated, then we can create more value-added jobs. Employees will be more valued and engaged if they see purpose in their work.

While not ignoring recent developments, our transportation system and road infrastructure still need a lot of work. It's still taking too long for us to move our people, goods, and services. When a worker has to leave home at 5:00 AM to battle traffic when they arrive at work they are already exhausted, not to mention the return leg after eight long hours. Whilst we are making progress in road works, the transportation system needs more investments. We have to make a serious commitment to get things done faster. An employee can't truly feel engaged when they are forced to race to reach work and hurrying to leave in order to beat the traffic. Our traffic woes could be a contributing factor in increasing employee burnout, but that's for another article.

It's time for us to get serious about productivity, it's for us to take a serious look at employee engagement and its impacts on productivity, to greater effect change. Economist Dennis G. Jones sums it up best by noting that low productivity is deeply engrained into Jamaican life, but it does not have to stay that way.