Anthony Scardillo, assistant professor of Marketing at Mount Saint Mary College.
According to recent Gallup findings, 67 percent of U.S. employees are disengaged at work, and roughly 70 percent of the variance in employee engagement depends on the manager.
That doesn’t surprise Anthony Scardillo, assistant professor of Marketing at Mount Saint Mary College and author of “Are We Having Fun Yet: What Factors Influence Managers to have Fun at Work,” published in The Journal of Entrepreneurship & Organization Management.
According to Scardillo’s research, more than 70 percent of employees in America are dissatisfied with their jobs. But what’s more distressing is that about 13 percent of that group are so upset that they actively sabotage the workplace, impeding the productivity and job satisfaction of their coworkers.
There are plenty of reasons why one might not enjoy his or her job, but the underlying one is simple, Scardillo explained: managers are not having any fun.
“If the manger’s not having fun at work, nobody else is going to have fun,” Scardillo explained.
Employees will follow suit if their managers are having a good time, in a kind of give-and-take feedback loop, Scardillo said. The end result is a more productive, harmonious workplace with less turnover.
“A fun and engaging workplace impacts employee engagement, morale, productivity, and safety,” he noted.
In his recent study of more than 300 employees of an advertising/marketing firm – including more than 100 managers – Scardillo found six important factors that influence managers’ enjoyment of their work: mentoring, new challenges, empowerment, peer/co-worker relationships, meaningful work, and fun activities, like company lunches.
Scardillo has presented “Are We Having Fun Yet: What Factors Influence Managers to have Fun at Work” at several prestigious conferences, including the Engaged Management Scholars Conference at Temple University in Philadelphia, Penn. He is an award-winning professional with more than 30 years of experience in international, national, regional, state, and local advertising, marketing, and sales. His research focuses on improving the workplace environment by creating fun and engaging cultures for employees.