GOOGLE'S ENGAGEMENT by Tony Schwartz

“Even in the absence of a fixed definition, more than 100 studies have now demonstrated a strong relationship between employee engagement and organizational performance. For example, a Towers Perrin study conducted in 2007-2008 among 90,000 employees in 18 countries found that companies with the most engaged employees had a 19 percent increase in operating income during the previous year, while those with the lowest levels had a 32 percent decline.

The study also found that only 20 percent of all employees were fully engaged. Forty percent are ‘enrolled,’ meaning capable but not fully committed, and 40 percent were disenchanted and disengaged. That's consistent with a number of other studies, including Gallup's.

So what most influences employee engagement? Human beings share four core needs beyond survival: sustainability (physical); security (emotional); self-expression (mental), and significance (spiritual). Amazingly few companies focus on meeting any of these needs. . . .

The holy grail is the degree to which employers actively invest in meeting the multidimensional needs of their employees. . . .

Google does far and away the best job of investing in the health and well-being of their employees. Google provides them terrific food at no cost, fully equipped gyms, low-cost massages, napping pods, and on-site medical care.”