The Stepford Employee Fallacy

Employee engagement has become the hot topic in business circles over the past several years. Although many leaders have a basic understanding of what it is and how it affects business outcomes, they rely on a set of faulty assumptions about how to create an engaged workforce. These assumptions—mostly carry overs from an old-school management mindset—distort the true meaning of employee engagement. The Stepford Employee Fallacy tells leaders what they need to hear and what employees are too afraid to say: the truth. Employers cannot mistreat their employees and expect them to be happy, committed, high-performing corporate robots. This book dismantles the contemporary understanding of employee engagement by debunking the beliefs of business leaders who have unrealistic expectations for their workers. Using anecdotes from his consulting practice, third-party research, brain science, current events, and his own personal observations from the front lines, Jonathan D. Villaire explains why the majority of employees today are disengaged in their jobs. He then offers some radical solutions to make all organizations more engaging places to work. Employee engagement is often referred to as a win-win situation for workers and their employers. It is, but only if leaders let go of the falsehood that has become an unspoken managerial tenet of the modern workplace: The Stepford Employee Fallacy.

Employee engagement has become the hot topic in business circles over the past several years. Although many leaders have a basic understanding of what it is and how it affects business outcomes, they rely on a set of faulty assumptions about how to create an engaged workforce. These assumptions—mostly carry overs from an old-school management mindset—distort the true meaning of employee engagement. The Stepford Employee Fallacy tells leaders what they need to hear and what employees are too afraid to say: the truth. Employers cannot mistreat their employees and expect them to be happy, committed, high-performing corporate robots. This book dismantles the contemporary understanding of employee engagement by debunking the beliefs of business leaders who have unrealistic expectations for their workers. Using anecdotes from his consulting practice, third-party research, brain science, current events, and his own personal observations from the front lines, Jonathan D. Villaire explains why the majority of employees today are disengaged in their jobs. He then offers some radical solutions to make all organizations more engaging places to work. Employee engagement is often referred to as a win-win situation for workers and their employers. It is, but only if leaders let go of the falsehood that has become an unspoken managerial tenet of the modern workplace: The Stepford Employee Fallacy.

Jonathan D. Villaire is a bridge-builder, truth-teller, and advocate for empathy. After years of observing disengaging leadership in the modern workplace, Jonathan founded Cognize Consulting with the aim of giving supervisors, managers, and executives a new perspective on employee engagement: See employees as human beings, not as human capital. Understand how to create an employee experience that increases retention and attracts top talent. Engage employees with a leadership mindset of curiosity, humility, and empathy. Jonathan holds a Master of Science degree in Organizational Leadership from Nichols College in Dudley, Massachusetts, and a Bachelor of Arts degree in Organizational Communication from Assumption College in Worcester, Massachusetts. He is also a Certified Professional Coach through the Center for Coaching Certification.