Seventy percent of U.S. employees say they are not engaged in their work, and the longer they stay with an organization, the less engaged they become. But, a worker’s involvement in and commitment to his or her organization is largely within an employer’s control, according to the Gallup Organization who surveyed 3 million employees in 350 companies and elsewhere.

Why should employers care if employees are engaged in their work? According to Gallup, employees who are engaged are measurably more productive, more loyal, and more likely to actively refer friends and family members to their employer.

So what can you do to increase employee engagement at work? Gallup has created an employee “engagement hierarchy” similar to psychologist Abraham Maslow’s famous Hierarchy of Needs model. The research shows that employers can go a long way just by focusing on meeting the employees’ basic needs:

• Set clear expectations. The world’s best managers define the outcomes clearly to employees, yet at the same time let people find their own path to get there.
• Let employees do what they do best. The best managers are fantastic at helping each employee feel as though the best of them is understood and being called upon every day.
• Show you care. Employees must believe that a supervisor or someone at work seems to care about them as a person.

   Too many HR programs focus solely on employees’ most advanced need: the opportunity to learn and grow. There is no point in addressing that need if, for instance, employees do not believe that they have the opportunity to do what they do best every day.