Why is employee engagement plummeting despite all the perks? In this episode, Jason Lauritsen joins us to explain why your performance management framework is failing without a foundation of real happiness and human connection—especially in a hybrid work world.While modern organizations spend fortunes on high-tech collaboration tools, structured processes, and corporate perks, something vital is quietly disappearing: the baseline relationships that make work meaningful. Today on Happy@Work, I'm talking with Jason Lauritsen, a renowned leadership expert, keynote speaker, and author who has dedicated his career to fixing employee engagement.Jason argues that the quality of our workplace relationships isn't just a soft "nice-to-have." It is a business-critical driver that directly dictates your company's retention, daily productivity, long-term wellbeing, and overall culture. We break down the real financial and human cost of corporate disconnection and outline exactly how modern leaders can change their approach.Connect with Jason Lauritsen:https://www.linkedin.com/in/jasonlauritsen Timecodes:00:00 — Tatiana opens the episode and introduces the topic00:30 — Teaser question about office vs remote engagement01:33 — Jason’s background and his role02:49 — What connection at work means05:12 — Definition of connection08:57 — Research setup and employee sample size09:55 — Biggest surprise: highest disengagement among non-management on-site employees10:23 — Highest connection among fully remote employees14:19 — Meaning and resonance connection17:09 — Organizational resonance as the strongest predictor18:31 — How companies can cultivate meaning and purpose21:28 — Leadership’s role in building connection23:36 — Managers as the “linchpin”28:39 — Why focusing on moderately engaged employees works best34:08 — Three main tips for improving connection at work35:07 — Advice for employees to build peer relationships36:11 — Episode wrap-upSubscribe to Happy@Work for more insights on building a workplace that people genuinely love.#Happiness #Engagement #PerformanceManagement #HybridWork #FutureOfWork #LeadershipDevelopment #HappyAtWork