{"id":53076,"date":"2022-02-24T10:59:30","date_gmt":"2022-02-24T15:59:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/?p=53076"},"modified":"2026-04-28T03:07:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-28T07:07:18","slug":"interesting-challenging-work-impacts-employee-engagement","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/interesting-challenging-work-impacts-employee-engagement\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Interesting and Challenging Work Matters in Employee Engagement"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Search online today for information about \u201cemployee engagement\u201d and you\u2019ll get hundreds of hits. Everyone, it seems, has an idea about what to do to keep employees engaged. It\u2019s especially important right now in the age of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/great-resignation-employee-engagement-lessons\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Great Resignation<\/a>. Still, there\u2019s one area that doesn\u2019t get enough attention. When it comes to employee engagement, a critical factor is interesting and challenging work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Don\u2019t believe us? Consider these five top factors for employees leaving work:<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<ul>\n<li>Insufficient pay (44%)<\/li>\n<li>Limited career paths (43%)<\/li>\n<li>Lack of challenging work (30%)<\/li>\n<li>Work-life balance (28%<\/li>\n<li>Lack of recognition (27%)<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-53079\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"interesting and challenging work\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash-50x33.jpg 50w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/elisa-ventur-bmJAXAz6ads-unsplash.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Lack of challenging work is number 3. That means all those efforts to recognize your people, while appreciated, may be undermined by sheer boredom. And when put that way, it can\u2019t be too surprising. If your workers are bored, how motivated can you expect them to be to wake up and show up to work?<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>As <a href=\"https:\/\/blog.vantagecircle.com\/employee-engagement-trends\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Vantage Circle<\/a> puts it, \u201cExciting and Challenging work is one of the prime and long-lasting motivators for employees. Your employees might continue to work in the absence of interesting work, but they will not put their heart and soul into it.\u201d Yet you do want your team to give its all. That\u2019s when you start to see the best of productivity, sales generation, customer satisfaction, and innovation.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>Importance of interesting and challenging work<\/h2>\n<p>Gone are the days when an individual would get their one job after graduation and punch in day in and day out until retirement. People plan on moving around, maybe even changing careers along the way. Because they want interesting and challenging work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>This is particularly true of the next generation of employees. Generation Z, people ages 16 to 25, see themselves as hard working. But they will only work hard if they want to do so, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.shrm.org\/resourcesandtools\/hr-topics\/employee-relations\/pages\/gen-z-worries-about-work-skills.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a study by<\/a> The Workforce Institute at Kronos Inc. The authors wrote, &#8220;They&#8217;re looking for leaders who will help them be inspired in their day-to-day work, while encouraging them to try new things and develop professionally over time.\u201d It isn\u2019t that much of a stretch to interpret trying \u201cnew things\u201d as synonymous with \u201cinteresting and challenging work.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>In fact, <a href=\"https:\/\/www2.deloitte.com\/us\/en\/pages\/consumer-business\/articles\/understanding-generation-z-in-the-workplace.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to Deloitte<\/a>, \u201cwhile salary is the most important factor in deciding on a job, Generation Z values salary less than every other generation.\u201d If they had to choose between &#8220;a better-paying but boring job\u201d or \u201cwork that was more interesting but didn\u2019t pay as well,\u201d they were fairly evenly split.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Yet the youngest generation of employees doesn\u2019t have a lock on the need for interesting and challenging work. As Randy Grieser, author of <em>The Ordinary Leader<\/em>, writes about the <a href=\"https:\/\/theordinaryleader.com\/blog\/great-motivator-meaningful-challenging-work\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">motivating power of meaningful work<\/a>, \u201cFor all of us, work in many ways is a classroom in which we should always be learning.\u201d For Grieser, it ties back to \u201can innate desire to improve and better [ourselves].\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>Remote work and the need for challenge<\/h2>\n<p>After \u201cwild fluctuations\u201d in 2020, in the first half of 2021, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.gallup.com\/workplace\/352949\/employee-engagement-holds-steady-first-half-2021.aspx\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Gallup reported<\/a> \u201c36% of U.S. employees are engaged in their work and workplace.\u201d Globally, \u201c20% of employees are engaged at work.\u201d That leaves a lot of room for improvement.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Especially now that people are <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wfhuman-why-working-from-home-makes-us-more-real\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">working from home<\/a>, interesting and challenging work is all the more important. Why? Because your people now have to do more self-motivation to \u201cshow up\u201d at work. The external accountability of people seeing them slack off is mostly gone.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Plus, they are more <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/bridge-employee-experience-gap\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">disconnected from their peers<\/a> and can be suffering loneliness and lack of input. So, there\u2019s nothing to distract them from the boredom. For example, in late 2021 a process engineer <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reddit.com\/r\/ChemicalEngineering\/comments\/puc2d9\/how_to_ask_for_for_interesting_and_challenging\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">posted<\/a> to Reddit about being stuck doing copy and paste jobs, \u201cwhere no brains are required.\u201d The individual noted that \u201cWFH has made learning very slow\u2026I just do what&#8217;s told to me by one person. They are mostly mundane date entry jobs.\u201d That is not an engaged employee!<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-large wp-image-53078\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"interesting and challenging work\" width=\"1024\" height=\"683\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-1024x683.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-768x512.jpg 768w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-600x400.jpg 600w, https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/GettyImages-1177187118-50x33.jpg 50w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<p>Paying more would only be a short-term solution, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bizjournals.com\/louisville\/stories\/2002\/09\/02\/editorial2.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">argues<\/a> Terry Bragg in an editorial for The Business Journals. \u201cAlthough managers like to think money is the key motivator, it&#8217;s not\u2026 The work itself is a stronger motivator than the compensation for the work.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<h2>Offering work that challenges and interests employees<\/h2>\n<p>Employers can set up a work environment that motivates their team members with more than mundane, routine tasks. This article has explored why it is worth the effort. Our next article will discuss how business can manage the work environment to engage employees with interesting and challenging work. We\u2019ll also cover, in another blog, how employees can request more motivating work.<\/p>\n<div class=\"div-spacer\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"div-minispacer\"><\/div>\n<p><strong>Ready to get serious about employee engagement?\u00a0<\/strong>You can just <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/category\/human-resources\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">keep reading about it<\/a>, but you can also do something about it! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/request-a-demo\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Learn how Sogolytics can help.<\/a><br \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\"> \n{\n  \"@context\": \"https:\/\/schema.org\",\n  \"@type\": \"FAQPage\",\n  \"mainEntity\": [{\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n    \"name\": \"Why Interesting and Challenging Work Matters in Employee Engagement?\",\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n      \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n      \"text\": \"When considering the top factors of employees leaving work, Lack of challenging work is number 3. That means all those efforts to recognize your people, while appreciated, may be undermined by sheer boredom. And when put that way, it can\u2019t be too surprising. If your workers are bored.\"\n    }\n  },{\n    \"@type\": \"Question\",\n    \"name\": \"What are the top five factors for employees leaving work?\",\n    \"acceptedAnswer\": {\n      \"@type\": \"Answer\",\n      \"text\": \"Insufficient pay (44%) Limited career paths (43%) Lack of challenging work (30%) Work-life balance (28% Lack of recognition (27%)\"\n    }\n  }]\n}\n<\/script><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Search online today for information about \u201cemployee engagement\u201d and you\u2019ll get hundreds of hits. Everyone, it seems, has an idea about what to do to keep employees engaged. It\u2019s especially important right now in the age of the Great Resignation. Still, there\u2019s one area that doesn\u2019t get enough attention. When it comes to employee engagement, a critical factor is interesting and challenging work. Don\u2019t believe us? Consider these five top factors for employees leaving work: Insufficient pay (44%) Limited career paths (43%) Lack of challenging work (30%) Work-life balance (28% Lack of recognition (27%) Lack of challenging work is number 3. That means all those efforts to recognize your people, while appreciated, may be undermined by sheer boredom. And when put that way, it can\u2019t be too surprising. If your workers are bored, how motivated can you expect them to be to wake up and show up to work? As Vantage Circle puts it, \u201cExciting and Challenging work is one of the prime and long-lasting motivators for employees. Your employees might continue to work in the absence of interesting work, but they will not put their heart and soul into it.\u201d Yet you do want your team to give its all. That\u2019s when you start to see the best of productivity, sales generation, customer satisfaction, and innovation. Importance of interesting and challenging work Gone are the days when an individual would get their one job after graduation and punch in day in and day out until retirement. People plan on [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":41,"featured_media":5042,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[156],"tags":[608,164,241,676,417,416],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v19.7.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Importance of Challenging Work in Employee Engagement<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Employee engagement is a top priority, and a lot is written about it. One area deserving more attention? The importance of challenging work.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sogolytics.com\/blog\/interesting-challenging-work-impacts-employee-engagement\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Importance of Challenging Work in Employee Engagement\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Employee engagement is a top priority, and a lot is written about it. One area deserving more attention? 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