Paradoxes of Engagement: Workers are not Assets

They are investors.

Stowe Boyd
Work Futures

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Photo by Precondo CA on Unsplash

The conventional story about internal communications runs something like this:

  • The company would like employees to be more engaged because this leads to a series of positive effects, including higher productivity, greater innovation, and the willingness to speak well of the company, which leads to attracting more and better candidates to consider joining the firm.
  • Effective internal communication has been shown to be one of the most critical factors influencing employee engagement along with belief in leadership, alignment with company vision, and a sense of belonging. Note that these latter factors have to be communicated, so internal communications are the medium through which employees can gain and retain those beliefs, that alignment, and that sense of belonging.
  • Therefore, the company has a strong motivation to develop and maintain an effective internal communications program.
  • QED.

But, if we take a step back, and think about this more broadly, it could be we are missing the larger picture.

Read the entire post at Work Futures on Substack.

Read all the Paradoxes of Engagement series:

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Stowe Boyd
Work Futures

Insatiably curious. Economics, sociology, ecology, tools for thought. See also workfutures.io, workings.co, and my On The Radar column.