The One Person Who Can Make Your Job Better

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Workers who feel as though it is the responsibility of their boss to create an engaging work environment may want to start thinking otherwise and looking inside. That’s because new research has found that contrary to popularly held beliefs, it is the responsibility of workers, not bosses, to make sure they connect with their jobs in a positive way.

It's no secret that engaged workers are a great asset to an organization, since workers who are engaged are often fully involved and enthusiastic in their jobs, meaning they will be more willing to work and help the organization. However, just 25 percent of workers were engaged in their jobs, according to the research.

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To learn more about these findings, Timothy Clark, CEO of international consulting and training organization TRClark, spent five years researching 35 organizations in 13 different industries. In those travels, Clark found that more than half of the leaders within organizations placed the onus on themselves to create engaged employees, but all of the employees deemed to be emotionally connected to their jobs said they were responsible for their own engagement. As a result, the research found that engagement cannot be taught or forced; rather, workers must make the choice to be engaged.

"This is an amazing finding," Clark, author of "The Employee Engagement Mindset" (McGraw-Hill, 2012) said.

While teaching engagement may be impossible, there are six traits that highly engaged employees share, according to Clark. They include:    

1. Connecting— "Participating in activities that produce a high 'return on connection,'" Clark said.
2. Shaping—"Seizing opportunities to customize your professional experience," Clark said.
3. Learning—"Becoming a self-directed learner and learning at or above the speed of change," Clark said.
4. Stretching—"Moving out of your comfort zone and going to your outer limits," Clark said.
5. Achieving— "Regenerating through the intrinsic rewards of meaningful achievement," Clark said.
6. Contributing—"Directing effort beyond self to create growth in others and value in the organization," Clark said.

Reach BusinessNewsDaily staff writer David Mielach at Dmielach@techmedianetwork.com. Follow him on Twitter @D_M89.