Research reveals 56% of employees feel disconnected at work, but they want connection

Announcement: Study examines how organizations, managers, layoffs, and benefits affect workplace connections and experiences of employees.

Norwalk, CT, June 15, 2024: Ingenuity Design, an employee experience agency, released the final supplement to its 2nd Employee Connections Study. This four-part study gathered perspectives from employees and managers identifying the experiences of two distinct employee attitudinal groups — Connected Employees (44%) and Disconnected Employees (56%). Disconnected Employees feel disconnected at work because they lack trust in their employers (only 21% trust company leaders, 18% trust HR), are discouraged and are flight risks. 

“Employees overwhelmingly want to feel connected at work (98%), and disconnection often stems from an employee’s daily experiences. It’s crucial for both employees and employers that companies foster cultures of trust, recognition, and transparency,” said Greg Stewart, Founder and Executive Creative Director at Ingenuity Design. “Deepening employee connections to their work, colleagues, and the organization is vital for enhancing the employee experience. Therefore, understanding employees’ views on connection and what makes them feel connected is key to tackling the disconnection crisis.”

Select findings:

Employees reported feeling more connected at work when praised/recognized for contributions (35%), collaborating with others (33%), participating in team meetings (33%), and receiving comprehensive benefits/total rewards (32%).

Manager respondents believe the key skills needed to connect their team with the organization are communication (54%), leadership (49%), active listening (47%), empathy (46%), and flexibility (44%).

This study also explored layoffs’ effects on workplace connections and how total rewards influence employee connections. Surprisingly, a statistical analysis showed that employee attitudes towards connections weren’t tied to traditional demographics or work characteristics such as location (remote, in-person, or hybrid), level, or tenure within the company.

The interactive report site outlines strategies for HR and internal communications leaders to foster more connected and positive experiences for employees. “Many factors contribute to a connected workplace. Our findings show that today’s employee experience needs more humanity, focus, and purpose. Our goal was to highlight clear actions for enhancing the employee experience in every organization,” said Meghan Stewart, Managing Partner at Ingenuity Design.

Read the main study and three supplements at:

The Imbalanced State of Employee Connections at Work

The Impact of RIFs: How to Rebuild and Reinforce Employee Connection 

Employee Connections from the Manager’s Perspective

The Undeniable Impact of Total Rewards on Employee Connections

About the Research

The online survey, conducted June 15-19, 2023, by Audience Audit, gathered responses from 400 US employees at companies with 1,000+ employees, from VPs and below. It covered a wide range of demographics including age, race/ethnicity, gender identity, job function, and income. Out of the total, 219 respondents are managers with at least one direct report. The overall margin of error is +/- 4.9 percentage points at a 95% confidence level.

The segmentation is based solely on attitudes, determined through mathematical analysis without preset segments or attitudes, grouping respondents by shared views.

Data visualization is available here.

About Ingenuity Design

Ingenuity Design is an employee experience agency that strengthens companies from the inside out. The agency advises and creates value-driven employee experiences across the employee lifecycle to help make companies great places to work. Clients include eBay, TD Bank, Danaher, Thumbtack, and Robert Half. www.ingenuitydesign.com

About Audience Audit

Audience Audit helps marketing agencies build ROI and reputation based on original thought leadership research. Founded in 2009, the firm has conducted audience research for hundreds of agencies and their clients. www.audienceaudit.com

Media Contact

Meghan Stewart | 602-295-5312 | meghan@ingenuitydesign.com