Distilled to its most basic, an employment contract is, in essence, an agreement:
1. Between an individual and an organisation that the individual will fulfil certain duties required by the organisation.
2. Undertaken between two parties without any coercion by one party on the other.
Surely you would agree? If so, you will also agree that each party has certain binding rights and corresponding obligations as a result of that agreement. One of the primary consequences then is that the organisation has the right to expect that the individual will perform those duties to the best of their abilities, and thus that the individual has an obligation to perform to the expected standard. I would go even further, and suggest that any self-respecting employee will also feel an obligation to themselves to do their best, as their work is a primary means of utilising and developing their talents and achieving their own self-fulfilment and life-purpose.
Consequently, by definition, employee disengagement means people are not fulfilling their personal responsibility to either their employers or themselves. It doesn't matter why employee disengagement is so prevalent or who is to blame: both parties need find a solution and create an environment where people can honour their personal responsibilities.
Authors B.J. Gallagher and Steve Ventura provide some great tips as to how this might be achieved in their book, 'Who Are "They" Anyway?' They list as the benefits for each individual adopting a 'personal accountability attitude':
- You have more control over your destiny
- You become an active contributor rather than a passive observer
- Others look to you for leadership
- You gain the reputation as a problem solver
- You enhance your career opportunities
- You enjoy the satisfaction that comes from getting things done…the power of positive doing
- You experience less anger, frustration and helplessness ? all leading to better physical health
- You realize a positive spillover effect into your personal life at home
According to them, the most important words of personal responsibility are as follows:
The 10 most important words:
I won't wait for others to take the first step.
The 9 most important words:
If it is to be, it's up to me.
The 8 most important words:
If not me, who? If not now, when?
The 7 most important words:
Let me take a shot at it.
The 6 most important words:
I will not pass the buck.
The 5 most important words:
You can count on me.
The 4 most important words:
It IS my job!
The 3 most important words:
Just do it!
The 2 most important words:
I will.
The most important word:
Me
Frank Tyger said "Your future depends on many things, but mostly yourself." Maybe individuals and organisations alike need to think about the innate wisdom of those words and create an environment where this is encouraged. Personally, I still don't think there is any better catalyst for achieving this than formally accounting for people as assets.