High-functioning teams are the catalyst for thriving businesses. These teams are more than a collection of talented individuals; they are a cohesive unit that operates with purpose and shared values. The Express Blog’s High-Functioning Teams series explores the essential traits and practices that enable teams to achieve outstanding results together.
Showing dedication to your work, team, and workplace through commitment is often an indication of job satisfaction and engagement. Commitment, which shares similarities to but is distinct from loyalty, is a promise to fulfill an obligation.
In an era when loyalty between employees and employers is waning, commitment fundamentally supports high-functioning teams by creating shared purpose and unified goals to work toward collectively. Cultivating commitment among your team can extend employees’ longevity, improve morale, and increase engagement.
Ways Employees Show Commitment
When employees are serious about their jobs, their passion is clear and can be contagious. These are the individuals who are happy to be at work, enjoy their jobs, take great pride in the work they do, and invest in relationships with their coworkers, peers, and leaders. Commitment may come naturally to those who feel at home in their careers and place great significance on their contributions and outputs.
Employees can show their commitment in a number of ways, including being receptive to feedback, working toward the greater good of the team over their own ideas and goals, and putting the customers’ needs first. Commitment can also be demonstrated by sharing ideas, being positive, and striving to advance, according to Glassdoor.
How Leaders Can Cultivate Commitment
Commitment can be cultivated when leaders create buy-in for employees and seek to create environments where employees feel empowered, invested in, and equipped to succeed. When the work feels personal to employees, they may feel passionate and connected to the mission of what they do. Investing in employees’ professional and personal development may make the work experience more valuable and meaningful. But, none of this can be accomplished without trust.
Trust is essential for employees to feel committed to work, and those who feel committed are less likely to leave their jobs, according to ADP Research. Employees who trust their teammates, managers, and senior leaders are more likely to be highly motivated and committed than those who don’t:
- Trust teammates – 16x more likely
- Trust managers – 26x more likely
- Trust senior leaders – 41x more likely
Commitment is a driving force to transform individual efforts into collective success. Creating an environment of trust, empowerment, and investment can nurture commitment among employees and their teams, leading to higher achievements and thriving business.
About Express Employment Professionals
At Express Employment Professionals, we’re in the business of people. From job seekers to client companies, Express helps people thrive and businesses grow. Our international network of franchises offers localized staffing solutions to the communities they serve across the U.S., Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, employing 427,000 people globally in 2024 and more than 11 million since its inception.
