The Advisory Committee of the Egyptian Junior Business Association (EJB) has conducted a complete study on the relationship between employee engagement and perceived organizational support on the one hand, and job performance on the other hand.
The aim of this study was to identify the impact of employee engagement and organizational support on job performance in companies in the business sector. A descriptive analytical approach was used in this study, which included 2,000 male and female employees. This study focused on private-sector companies working in the fields of engineering industries, food, real estate, tourism, and aviation.
According to Mohamed Elkholi, Member of the EJB and Founder of DOTMENT, an employee engagement and internal communications consultancy firm, this study included random samples and the data collected was analyzed using appropriate descriptive tests. The results showed that employees exhibited a 5% increase in their feelings of job connection toward their companies. The results also showed that the degree of the employees’ awareness of the organizational support provided by these companies was average (66.90%), that the degree of their job performance was high (33.33%), and that there was a statistically significant relationship between job engagement and perceived organizational support on the one hand and job performance on the other hand in those companies under study.
Elkholi further emphasized that the study recommended providing the employees with the necessary organizational support and assessing the extent of their awareness of this support. The study also recommended creating a consensus between the personal goals of the employees and the goals of the company. Some of the other recommendations were also to consolidate the human relationships between employees in companies, to provide the employees with a sense of job security, and to make appropriate changes to conform to the work requirements in those companies.
The study recommended that companies focus on flexibility to give employees the freedom to adjust their work schedules or location to better suit their needs.
According to Elkholi, the study confirmed that many employers do not trust their employees to complete their work without the watchful eyes of their managers. However, the results obtained were surprising. When employees were allowed to work flexible hours instead of the strict 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM routine, they were found to be more productive, happier, and more interactive within the workplace. This indicates that employers should support charitable organizations and engage more with society. They should also encourage their employees to participate in volunteer projects as a team. Working together to help others proves that companies are not just about making money and that they can make a difference in the community as well.
The study further indicated that maintaining sincere relationships between the employees and management stimulates confidence and builds positive attitudes. Therefore, employers are encouraged to build relationships between their employees and to develop a reliable work environment.
According to Elkholi, if employees perceive the workplace as an open concept that does not require showing false emotions, they will feel as if they do not need to hide anything from their peers or colleagues and they will always be honest.
He further stressed that the study recommended providing time for rest as well as motivating and encouraging employees (and reminding them) to take 5-minute breaks away from their desks. It is highly recommended to take a mindful break for some time after focusing on a proposal or document or report that requires your full attention.
There are also some applications that employees can utilize to remind them to take a break and relax their eyes away from the screen. “When your employees see that you care about their wellbeing, rather than just caring about sales or paperwork, they will work harder for you and the company,” Elkholi concluded.
