The Pain of Disengagement - It is Personal!

I was thinking about this as I came to work today.

Engagement has become a major "buzz" word for HR. We want our employees to be engaged - fully there... giving their all. What happens, however, when those super engaged people have to be let go? Can we then ask them... hey, don't take it personally. It's just business. It's not about you. It's about the needs of the organization and I'm sure someone as great as you will be fine.

Really?

Ok, here's the problem. Engagement means a deep connection between who the person is and what the person does. Engaged employees do not do their jobs because they are paid or because it's their responsibility - even though, of course, we all must make a living and we all have responsibilities.  Instead, engaged individuals work because they breathe. They do their jobs because that is who they are. And because their personal and professional personas are deeply and closely tied, their jobs do become personal.

What are some of the benefits of this "deep connection"? Well, so far, research data seems promising. Engagement seems to be related to lots of organizational "good stuff" such as lower turnover, lower intention to quit, higher customer loyalty, and higher productivity. It stands to reason. Who wouldn't want an employee who gives his or her all? Who wouldn't consider such an employee a true treasure?

Problem is - what do you do with these highly engaged, highly connected, highly productive employees when you have to let them go? What is the impact of that? What are the moral responsibilities of the organization when you inspire engagement, invite engagement, hire for engagement... and then fire those who are engaged?

I am reminded of a quote from Saint Exupery in "The Little Prince": "You are responsible, forever, for what you have tamed. You are responsible for your rose." When I read the Portuguese version, the word used was not "tamed" but "captivate" ... we were to be responsible for those whom we captivated or invited in.  We were responsible for the love we inspired and for the passion we forged.

Aren't we possibly responsible for those whom we inspire to be engaged?