"They didn't come here that way. When people come to 'XYZ' company, they are eager to contribute. We make them this way." This was in response to a question that I asked one of the executive team members at a company I once worked. It took me about four months to realize something was out of kilter. On the surface, employees appeared to be contributing, but really they were just collecting a paycheck and doing just enough to get by.

Before long, I was struggling to stay engaged. One of the principles I live by is to find purpose and meaning in my life's work. I want all of me to show up on an assignment - body, soul, and spirit. I am not interested in merely doing tasks with my heart not really into it. Yet so many workers are doing exactly that. In the book Ten Thousand Horses by John Stahl-Wert and Ken Jennings, the authors cite research by the Gallup Organization that only 29 per cent of workers are engaged.The rest "essentially sleepwalk through the day, meeting only your baseline expectations, or in worst cases they're actively working to undermine your company's performance" (p.xii).

I am not sure if any nonprofit organizations were included in the research, but the results would eventually be the same. It may take a little longer for employees of nonprofits and ministries to disengage, because many times the very reason that they want to work for nonprofits and ministries is motivated by the desire to help others.

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