You’ve got it the wrong way round, it’s productivity that breeds engagement!

I think there’s a reason the saying goes Work Hard Play Hard, and not the other way around. For most workers, prolonged periods of feeling like you haven’t contributed much, or aren’t achieving anything professionally, can be unsettling, frustrating, and even stressful. On the flip side, the positive emotions that accompany professional achievements and making meaningful contributions can keep us feeling engaged and connected to our work. In this way, productivity is a lot like a drug – it doesn’t just make us feel good, it’s addictive. When we go cold turkey, however, the withdrawal symptoms can be overwhelming.

This is why the race to drive productivity through increasing engagement seems somewhat misguided. Yet, for some corporations, this equation remains an obsession. Conventional wisdom tells us that when employees are more engaged, their productivity naturally increases. However, emerging research and industry trends indicate that this relationship might work better in reverse: improving productivity leads to higher levels of engagement. This shift in perspective challenges traditional practices and calls for a re-evaluation of how companies approach employee performance and satisfaction.

The Productivity-Engagement Nexus

The connection between productivity and engagement is well-established, but its directionality is often misunderstood. The Universum EB Now Survey 2023 report underscores the importance of focusing on productivity as a lever for engagement. The data reveals that organisations that prioritise results-focused work environments, emphasising clear goals and high performance, tend to experience improved employee engagement.

Productivity as a Driver of Engagement

Organisations that are good at emphasising productivity tend to do well at implementing clear goals, providing the necessary tools, and usually foster an environment of accountability. These factors can instil a elevated sense of purpose and achievement among employees, naturally augmenting engagement. The ManpowerGroup Employment Outlook Survey highlights that businesses with a strong focus on productivity see higher levels of employee engagement. This is especially evident in sectors like Tech, where companies that prioritize output and efficiency also report higher engagement rates.

Furthermore, data-driven decision-making in employer branding—another key aspect of enhancing productivity—has been linked to increased engagement. Organisations that frequently use data to guide their employer branding strategies not only improve their attractiveness as an employer but also create a more engaged workforce in the process. In Asia-Pacific, for example, companies that focus on maintaining a high level of responsibility and learning agility among employees report discernible improvements in both productivity and engagement.

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The Pitfalls of Engagement-First Strategies

On the other hand, and as is so commonly seen, an engagement-first strategy can lead to unintended drawbacks. When employers obsess too much over engagement scores without tying them to productivity outcomes, they risk creating a workforce that feels satisfied but doesn’t necessarily deliver optimal performance. While fostering a positive work environment is paramount, it shouldn’t undermine the importance of clear performance expectations. The Universum survey also highlights that companies that overly emphasise engagement initiatives—such as excessive team-building activities or perks—without aligning them with productivity goals may struggle to achieve the desired outcomes in overall performance. In other words, too much engagement, or pursuit thereof, can be bad thing.

The Reverse Approach in Action

I’ve noticed that while some savvy employers have successfully implemented a productivity-first approach that subsequently increased engagement, they remain a minority. These forward-thinking organisations are usually characterised by setting ambitious (but not unachievable) goals, offer regular feedback at a personal and companywide level, and reward high performance. Over time, employees in these environments tend to feel more engaged because they can see the direct impact of their work on the company's success. Think of it as the extra boost in performance you get from feeling part of a winning team. This approach contrasts with companies that focus primarily on engagement scores, pushing managers harder and harder to increase those scores in a (not so covert) bid to drive productivity.

Until recently, success has been best observed in the Tech sector, where companies that prioritise innovation and performance not only achieve higher productivity but also report some of the highest engagement scores. However, it remains to be seen whether almost two years of ruthless layoffs will pump the breaks on both engagement and the resulting productivity boon that goes with it.

Rethinking Engagement and Productivity

The emerging evidence suggests that companies would most likely benefit from focusing on productivity as a means to drive engagement rather than the other way around. By creating an environment where productivity is prioritised—through clear goals, accountability, and a focus on results—employers can naturally foster a more engaged workforce. This approach not only aims to enhance performance but also ensures that engagement is meaningful and sustainable, rooted in the satisfaction that comes from achieving tangible outcomes rather that softer and more fleeting things.

So, does this mean employers should ditch engagement surveys altogether? Or do they still serve a valuable purpose, providing actionable insights whilst showing employees that you care about their voices? I’d argue that if the end goal of engagement is productivity, you’re better off measuring productivity directly and sharing that with the workforce as you do your engagement scores and insights. Managers and employees would likely prefer information on how productive they are compared to how engaged they are (or are not), and I’d argue that sharing this feedback with them has a far greater chance of helping with productivity, too.

I’d also strongly advocate for swapping out engagement surveys with wellbeing surveys. Hear me out… if one of the main aims of your engagement survey is to show your employees that you care about their wellbeing, and if you genuinely support employee wellness, a wellbeing survey could have a far more positive impact than the traditional engagement survey would. It would also provide meaningful data on wellness itself, which, if addressed, could improve both productivity and engagement. Or at least more so than typical engagement survey data, which tends to fizzle out quite quickly. If you are still keen on measuring engagement, start by letting the productivity numbers speak for themselves and see it more as an effect than a cause.

Conclusion

With all the data, tools, and smarts we now have, I’d argue it’s time to reconsider how we think about the relationship between engagement and productivity. By flipping the script, employers could unlock new levels of employee performance and satisfaction, creating a virtuous cycle where productivity drives engagement, which in turn fuels even greater productivity.

Shifting the engagement apparatus to something more caring, such as wellbeing, could also be a smart move in today's evolving workplace. If you find you're struggling to move the needle much in the engagement arms race, this could be just the way to refresh things and breath some life into your stagnant workforce.

Takeaways

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