Employalty Reading Notes: By Design Book Club

Book ClubLeadership DevelopmentCompany Culture

Dec 1

I have read dozens of leadership books, spent hundreds of hours in trainings and listened to more podcasts on leadership and company culture than I could possibly count. And very, very few resources have grabbed me like Joe Mull’s Employalty. It’s seriously brilliant, and the perfect inaugural book to launch the By Design Book Club with.

In Employalty: How to Ignite Commitment and Keep Top Talent in the New Age of Work, Joe Mull addresses the current challenges in employee recruitment and retention, particularly amid high turnover rates and changing work expectations. Mull introduces "employalty," a term he coined to describe a new blend of employee loyalty and commitment essential for businesses today. His book argues that, to retain talent, organizations must offer a workplace where employees feel valued, have opportunities for growth, and can work with purpose.

“Employalty is rooted in the idea that people do the best job possible when they believe they have the best job possible. It's not hard to find employees. Really, it’s not. Treat them better than they would be treated elsewhere, and they’ll join and stay. Create the conditions that activate their emotional and psychological commitment, and they’ll care and try.” (Mull, 8)

Mull highlights that modern employees prioritize more than just competitive pay. They seek job satisfaction through flexibility, meaningful work, and supportive leadership. This shift reflects a deeper recalibration of work-life expectations, where workers want roles that align with their personal values and lifestyle preferences. To address these needs, Mull outlines three core aspects companies should focus on: providing ideal jobs with fair compensation and flexibility, creating meaningful work environments, and cultivating excellent leadership.

Central to Mull’s approach is the idea that organizations must transition from being "departure organizations" (where employees see limited longevity) to "destination workplaces," where employees are eager to stay long-term. He argues that leaders should move away from traditional positional authority and focus on "relational authority," meaning they should engage, coach, and build trust with their teams. This aligns with findings indicating that employee engagement is largely influenced by leadership: 70% of team engagement is attributed to management style, and a significant portion of employees cite poor leadership as a reason for leaving their jobs.

“In organizations where employees enjoy high amounts of trust from their leaders, workers report 70% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, and 40% less burn out. Trust has a major impact on employee loyalty as well. Compared with employees at low trust companies, 50% more of those working at high trust organizations plan to stay with their employer over the next year, and 88% more said they would recommend their company to family and friends as a place to work.” (Mull, 209)

Mull also provides practical tools, including "Employalty scorecards" to assess if workplaces are meeting these benchmarks for fostering commitment. These scorecards allow leaders to evaluate their workplace culture, although Mull notes they are primarily diagnostic and may need additional, tailored strategies for implementation. Additionally, he emphasizes that creating a strong company culture and a flexible, empathetic work environment leads to higher engagement, improved customer satisfaction, and better overall performance.

Overall, Employalty serves as a guide for leaders navigating a new era in workforce management, advocating for a more humane and adaptable workplace that addresses the evolving needs of employees. By redefining loyalty and commitment, Mull provides a framework that enables companies to attract and retain talent effectively in a competitive market.

This is a true business book masterpiece. I look forward to having it in my arsenal and referring to it for years to come.

Lightbulb Moments

“This may require you to change your mindset about how you’ll fill positions at your company. Stop hiring. Get out of a selection mindset. We now live in the age of recruiting. You don’t get to pick people; you must attract them to your organization. The era of trying to find the best person for the job is over. You must now create the best job for the person.” (Mull, 16)

“Yet it is the US that claims the title as the most overworked industrial nation on earth. In research conducted prior to the Covid pandemic, 76% of Americans reported working more than 46 hours a week. Americans work hundreds of hours a year more than the citizens of other G7 nations, including 137 hours a year more than the Japanese, 260 hours a year more than the British, and 499 hours a year more than the French. One reason for this disparity might be that the US doesn’t have a law limiting the length of the work week.” (Mull, 41)

“There is both a formal and implied agreement when an employee signs on to work at your company. Yes, you’re agreeing to an exchange of compensation for productivity, of employment for expertise. But you’re also making the promise of security. Employees are trusting you with their livelihoods, their ability to feed their children, to pay for medicine, and to heat their homes. When they say yes to your job, they’re saying no to the security of all other jobs. They are placing the stability and quality of their lives in your hands.” (Mull, 56)

“The EPI estimates that since 1978, while the typical American workers compensation has grown not more than 18%, CEOs have seen their pay go up 1,322% .” (Mull, 79)

“But your work doesn’t stop there. Your organization must live it. Where companies fall short on purpose isn’t in finding the right language (though a lot of mission statements need serious work). It’s that they fail to live that mission in their actions.” (Mull, 142)

“Employees who get to use their strengths every day or three times as likely to report having an excellent quality of life and six times as likely to be engaged at work. As a result, organizations that prioritize employee strengths see a wide array of measurable benefits.” (Mull, 158)