Employee disengagement has reached alarmingly high rpt high levels across the globe on account of lack of privacy at workplaces and the figure is as high as 91 per cent in India in comparison to 87 per cent worldwide, says a study.
"In many workplaces today it's difficult for employees to find the privacy they need to concentrate, reflect or rejuvenate - all critically important activities in the quest to innovate and for overall wellbeing at work," research firm Steelcase Inc said in its latest global study.
It said the cost of disengagement in the US alone is estimated to be between USD 450-550 billion per year.
It said though around the world, CEOs recognise a clear correlation between employee engagement and business performance, few organisations can identify the factors that positively affect employee engagement, and even fewer know how to improve it.
Today most workplaces are set up as open plan offices for maximum group interaction, it said.
"What workers say they need most for productive work is what most offices today lack: privacy. Lack of privacy is employees' number-one complaint about their workplace, and the imbalance between collaboration and privacy at many offices has reached crisis proportions," the study said.
As per the Steelcase's Privacy Crisis at Workplaces Study, conducted in 14 countries including India, by the independent research firms IPSOS and Gallup including more than 10,500 workers, 69 people working around the globe are not fully engaged and most dissatisfied with their environment.
"Eighty five per cent of workers are dissatisfied and can't concentrate easily in the office," it said.
Key findings about India said that "91 of employees are disengaged and are putting in time but not passion for their work. Thirty one per cent of them are actively disengaged and are consciously projecting their dissatisfaction and 9 per cent of employees are engaged and contribute productively to their organisation."
The study revealed that there is a distinct correlation between employee engagement and privacy and the more satisfied an employee is, the more likely he is to be highly engaged, and privacy is a key component to workplace satisfaction.
It said privacy cannot be achieved by simply going back to an outdated model of hallways lined with enclosed offices but by choosing a more balanced approach to the workplace.
"Therefore though Indians rate their workspace as innovative (48 per cent) and nice looking (34 per cent) their workplace engagement stands at 9 per cent, it said.
