New Book Reveals Reasons Behind Record-Breaking Employee Dissatisfaction

Kenexa (NASDAQ:KNXA), a global provider of business solutions for human resources, today announced the publication of “We: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement.” Co-authored by Rudy Karsan, Chairman and CEO of Kenexa, and Kevin Kruse, CEO of Kru Research, the book was published in January 2011 by Wiley.

Karsan observed, “We live in a new era where work and life are blended as opposed to balanced, entitlements are a thing of the past, and job satisfaction is at a record low. This is a crisis for individuals because negative emotions at work spill over to our personal lives and cross over to those around us.”

For businesses, disengaged employees lead to lower levels of productivity and service and it’s been shown that companies with disengaged workers have five times lower shareholder returns than those companies with the most engaged workers. For individuals, research confirms that disengaged employees weigh five pounds more, have an elevated risk of heart attack, experience less marital intimacy and have children who are more likely to misbehave at school.

Based on vast global research and made accessible through anecdotes, interactive exercises, and online videos, Karsan and Kruse make their advice actionable for immediate personal and organisational growth. In “We: How to Increase Performance and Profits Through Full Engagement” Karsan and Kruse reveal the nature of work in the modern organisation and share secrets to achieving emotional buy-in and commitment at work. Based on findings from more than 10 million worker surveys and on their own experience as award-winning leaders of fast-growing companies, Karsan and Kruse highlight the three most common factors that drive engagement:

1.      Growth: We need to feel that we are advancing in our careers or are learning new things.

2.      Recognition: We need to feel appreciated and believe that our ideas count.

3.      Trust: We need to trust our senior leaders and feel confident about the future.

“Your kids, your spouse, your friends, your colleagues—all of us—we need you to find meaning and be engaged at work. If you’re a manager, we need you to be committed to the engagement and alignment of the workers on your team. We need each other to reach our shared goals. We need to harmonise our lives and our work,” said Karsan.