Employee Engagement vs. Motivation

The word “engage” comes from Old French (en + gage) meaning to pledge, as in, to pledge oneself to marriage. Thus, employee engagement refers to an ongoing pledge and commitment to one’s job responsibilities, team members, supervisor and company. Degree of engagement is reflected in an employee’s behaviors, specifically, those that advance the company’s Mission, Vision, values and objectives. Engagement is similar to, but not synonymous with, motivation. Engagement refers to an intrinsic, deep-rooted and sweeping sense of commitment, pride and loyalty that is not easily altered. In contrast, one’s level of motivation is strongly influenced by external factors, especially expectations that certain efforts or accomplishments will yield valued rewards, e.g., a financial bonus for meeting a quarterly sales objective. One’s motivation waxes and wanes depending on environmental demands and opportunities.

Critically, a high level of engagement buffers the impact of untoward environmental factors on motivation. In other words, highly engaged employees will remain motivated despite adverse circumstances, e.g., limited resources, equipment failures, time pressures, etc. In contrast, employees with low levels of engagement will tend to appear motivated only under favorable environmental conditions and/or when attempting to reach tangible, short-term goals that will yield personal reward. In fact, employees may appear highly motivated one minute and de-motivated the next. For example, imagine a team on pace to meet their weekly production goals and earn a bonus when suddenly a major equipment failure nearly ensures their inability to meet that goal. The employees who work as hard, or harder, post the incident are engaged. Those who walk around bemoaning the loss of their bonus were motivated by the situational opportunity. Engaged employees are hardy; disengaged employees are opportunistic. How do companies foster engagement and enduring commitment in their workforce?

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