Employee engagement surveys, originating from military morale assessments, have become endemic despite serious doubts about their validity and about whether there is a causal one-way relationship between engagement and performance (the reverse hypothesis is considered by many as being more plausible, i.e., going to work for an already successful company is likely to be more engaging.)
The concept of "engagement" lacks a universal definition, yet it influences executive bonuses, leading to inconsistent application and academic scepticism regarding its validity.
Methodological flaws include oversimplification and the assumption of shared understanding in questions, while the process can be infantilising by placing sole responsibility on employers.
We suggest exploring alternative, more nuanced methods for understanding employee experiences, such as narrative collection and sentiment analysis, moving away from the herd-like nature of standardised surveys.
Excerpts from Magnetic Nonsense: A Short History of Bullshit at Work and How to Make it Go Away
Note: podcast generated by Google LM Notebook from the original book text.
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