A new survey from Slack has revealed that millions of employees are “unaligned” and this puts them at odds with their organization's strategy, vision and operating principles.
To compile its new “State of Work Report” the company behind the popular online collaboration tool worked together with the market research firm GlobalWebIndex (GWI) to survey 17,000 global knowledge workers, managers and executives.
Slack wanted to learn more about their experiences in the modern workforce and did so by asking them what do aligned workers look like, why does having aligned workers matter and how do companies attract and retain aligned workers.
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The report found that 1 in 10 global knowledge workers believe they are “unaligned” while 15 percent of UK workers believe they are completely unaligned with their organization's mission.
Aligned vs unaligned workers
Slack's research discovered that only 34 percent of unaligned workers believe their organization's teams are working toward a shared vision. Of the unaligned workers surveyed, 70 percent either “agree” or “strongly agree” that they would like to feel more aligned with their company's vision, values and operating principles.
Aligned workers on the other hand, are the most connected to a company's vision and strategy which leads them to approach their work with optimism and they are more likely to focus on high-value business activities.
According to the report, the difference between aligned and unaligned workers has a significant impact on business prospects. Aligned workers in the UK are nearly twice as likely as unaligned workers to expect “significant growth” in their company's revenue and workforce. Unaligned workers in the UK though are three times more likely to expect “significant decline” in their company's revenue and growth.
Slack suggests that organizations can help nurture alignment by implementing a clear and frequently communicated strategy with a thoughtful approach to information overload.
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