Are Disabled, Old and Male Workers Less Engaged?

A recent study has discovered that disabled, male and older employees have been found to be “far less engaged” than other work colleagues.

With the workplace becoming a much more diverse environment, it is really important to make sure your workforce feel comfortable and able to work, no matter who they are.

The research looked into the relationship that existed between employee engagement and diversity and inclusion in the workplace. The researchers highlighted that improving and developing engagement of workers is a “two-way process” which requires both the employer and employees to work towards improving the performance of the business.

The Role of Equality, Diversity and Engagement

Over the last few years, employee equality and diversity have been at the forefront of every company’s plans, and employee engagement has become more prominent over time. Employers have begun to recognise the importance of this engagement and its link to the productivity of their workforce.

Making adjustments within your business to accommodate people’s needs and requirements is extremely important when it comes to making your workforce feel engaged and appreciated, regardless of gender, age, ethnicity or disability.

What the Research Found

With regards to gender, the research team found that women tend to appear a lot more engaged than men in the workplace, despite facing more issues when it comes to workplace equality. They were found to have a more positive relationship with their management and appeared to have a greater sense of achievement while working. The only aspect that they were less satisfied than men was the “employee voice” aspect, where 46.8% of women felt that their views were sought after, compared to 52.2% of male employees.

Younger workers were found to me more engaged than older workers, which the researchers concluded could be because of the “honeymoon period when they were excited and positive about being part of an organisation”. Employee engagement was seen to progressively decline as the age of the workers rose until around 65 years of age when it rose sharply, which researchers said could be due to “the fact that only the most engaged choose to stay in the labour market rather than opting to retire.”

There was a noticeable lower level of engagement among disabled workers, which was believed to have possibly been linked to organisations not making “reasonable adjustments”, putting in place disability friendly policies or lack of manager awareness.

The research concluded with the view that workplaces should implement effective ways of measuring the engagement of their staff in order to rectify any issues that may arise. It was found that organisations with employee networks had a higher level of employee engagement. This included encouraging collaborative work and creating better communication between employees and their management.

We have mentioned in a previous blog that an office interior design can have a massive role to play when it comes to keeping your staff feeling engaged and happy in their workplace. Implementing an office design that caters to the varying needs of your workforce will make them feel valued and included, increasing their engagement and giving them the opportunity to produce some fantastic work.

At Officescape, we have a great team of designers that are on hand to create a bespoke office design which caters to all your requirements. If you would like more information on how our team can help keep your workers engaged, contact us today by calling 01553 811 833 and we will be happy to help.