Employee engagement and employees' perceptions of their working experience show modest improvement despite economic difficulties in Europe, and have stabilised in the UK, according to Aon Hewitt.
The retirement and health consultancy's , annual study of more than 2,500 organisations, representing 3.8 million employees, found that employee engagement levels in Europe rose to 57% in 2012, up from 52% in 2011 and 51% in 2010.
The top five drivers of engagement for European employees were: Career opportunities, Organisational reputation, Pay, Work processes and Innovation.
All of the top five engagement drivers improved which helps to explain the overall increase in engagement levels in this region.
In the UK, engagement levels have stabilised at 47% having fallen from 52% to 47% between 2010 and 2011. Communication is one of the top five engagement drivers in the UK and the driver where there has been the most significant increase in employee perceptions scores (+7 percentage points).
Organisations seem to be doing a better job of keeping employees informed about what is going on and the path forward although there is still much room for improvement.
Jenny Merry, Engagement Practice leader for Aon Hewitt in the UK, said: "Organisations in the UK and across the European region are paying more attention to employee engagement, with improved focus on action planning and supporting managers and leaders, and more focus on the drivers that make a difference.
"There is still some way to go but this is starting to have a positive impact on the overall perception that employees have of their work experience."
