Summer Vacation Cancelled – Employee Engagement Levels Plummet

The BBC is today reporting – “British passengers are being disrupted by an air traffic controllers’ strike in France that has led to flight cancellations.”

With the strike intending to last over 6 days, this could undoubtedly affect thousands of British holidaymakers.

Just imagine – you’ve worked hard all year, had those dates blocked off the work calendar for months. You’ve packed, repacked, and repacked again – checked tickets and passport are in situ and set off for the airport for that well-earned holiday only to discover that your flight has been disrupted, or even worse, cancelled altogether.

This is not good news for anyone travelling, but it is also not good news for companies whose employees have had their holiday plans cancelled.

Why?

An often overlooked aspect of employee engagement is that an organisation does not have control of all the things that influence employee engagement.

Here is a prime example of a situation that is outside of the control of an organisation, but will, in all likelihood, affect that persons engagement levels once they return to work.

So, they’ve come back to work having had to deal with the fallout of disrupted or cancelled holiday plans. The upshot being that it’s hardly been a relaxing holiday.

What can you do?

We’re not suggesting that an organisation gives extra holiday time to cover such disruption or even financial compensation, but managers need to be aware when factors outside of work greatly impact the engagement of an individual.

Managers should look to be supportive and sympathetic in such times.

A manager, at their discretion, for example, could offer time during the working day to allow an employee to resolve any outstanding issues relating to their unfortunate holiday situation.

If you would like further information on how to increase and maintain employee engagement levels in your organisation, then contact us on +44 (0) 1255 850051.