This is the sixth blog in our Bite-Sized But Impactful Data series. We collect a lot of powerful data at YMCA WorkWell and we believe that data is only meaningful if it's shared. While our Workplace Well-Being Reports dive deep into our data, this blog series shares bite-sized and data-driven stories throughout the year. We want these stories to be short, quick reads that pique your interest more than answer all of your questions, so if you would ever like to go deeper and learn more about what we are seeing in our data, please contact us. We're always open to talk data with anyone and everyone.
In the midst of a remarkable World Series run and a heartbreaking Game 7 loss, the Toronto Blue Jays did the last thing I expected them to...
They highlighted a really important lesson about Employee Net Promoter Score (eNPS):
That lesson?
Your Passives are way more important than you think.
Let me explain.
If you need a refresher, Employee Net Promoter Score is a simple but powerful measure of how your team feels about their work. It asks your employees how likely they are to recommend your organization as a great place to work. Employees then fall into three buckets:
Most organizations focus on the extremes: Aiming to celebrate and keep their Promoters happy, while raising the alarm and trying to fix the experience of their Detractors. The rationale makes sense - Promoters are the enthusiastic employees who buoy a culture and Detractors are the disengaged who threaten it.
But here's the thing: The passives - the often forgotten group in the middle - hold the key to shifting much of your culture.
That's where my story comes in.
I'll be honest, I've never been a baseball fan.
I've grown up my whole life finding it, truthfully, a little boring. I have even uttered the question "can you even really call it a sport?" more than once in my life (an admission that is much easier to make in a blog than on a stage just days after the World Series).
In other words: I was a clear Detractor.
And yet there I was, 12:30am after 11 innings, feeling devastated that the Jays had lost.
So what changed? It wasn't the die-hard Promoter fans who turned me - it was the "ordinary people" who started to care a little more and talk a little louder who made me wonder what I was missing.
The Passives.
I cannot stress this enough:
If you don't like something, the fanatics aren't going to change your mind.
They're too into it, so you tune them out.
I have friends who love baseball. They're tried all the tricks to pull me in:
All things I should love. But their arguments never changed my mind. Why? Because - of course they think that. They're baseball people.
Examining tens of thousands of responses to our Employee Insights Survey, it is clear that the employee experience of Detractors is, understandably, different.
For example, Detractors are 5x more likely than Promoters to report burnout "Often" or "Extremely Often" at work. 5x!
That pattern holds up for every single metric on our Insights Survey: Engagement, Satisfaction, Trust, Community, Recognition, Belonging, Community, Authenticity, Well-Being - you name it. They are checked out of their work the way that I was checked out of baseball.
But in the midst of it all, there is one important reason why Detractors aren't persuaded by Promoters: Cynicism.
Detractors aren't just more disengaged at work - they're more cynical about it too. In fact, our data suggests that Detractors are 3.5x more cynical about their work than Promoters.
Why does this matter?
Cynicism is powerful. It dulls our curiosity and it filters how we interpret enthusiasm - from something that inspires us to something that makes us roll our eyes. It can make excitement feel inauthentic.
I was cynical about baseball and it meant that I wouldn't listen to my enthusiastic baseball-loving friends.
In the workplace, this means that your loudest and most enthusiastic advocates - your corporate cheerleaders - don't feel credible to your Detractors. They feel "too positive" and "out of touch".
This is why it's hard to generate momentum when the promoters are the only ones cheering...
But when the passives start to lean in? That's when Detractors start to pay attention.
I could see that shift happen as the World Series progressed.
I started to receive texts from those friends who don't talk about RBIs.
I started to see the people I know don't typically watch games post about it online.
It's easy to tune out the cheerleaders. But when the average person starts caring and tuning in, you start asking: "What am I missing here?"
And that's when you find yourself, 12:30am, nervously hoping the team you've never cared about before can bring it home.
At YMCA WorkWell, we often tell leaders to pay close attention to their Passives for two reasons:
Like me watching the Blue Jays — it wasn’t the die-hard fans who convinced me; it was seeing the Passives lean in that made me wonder what I was missing. Their credibility bridges the gap.
I'll be honest: I'm not going to be watching 162 Jays games next year. But I'll definitely be paying more attention and it's safe to say I have a newfound appreciation for the sport (see?) - and that only happened because the Passives inspired me to give it a try.
They moved the needle.
Your Promoters are vital. But they aren't going to shift your culture alone - especially not when cynicism is high.
So if you really want to move your eNPS, start by energizing your Passives. They’re your bridge, your momentum. They’re the ones who will make your Detractors start to look up and say, “Maybe I should pay attention.”
Because in the workplace - just like in baseball - it’s the quiet middle that can turn a spark into a movement.
Want to learn more about how our Insights Reports can help you act on your own eNPS?
Check out our Insights Page and always feel free to reach me at dave.whiteside@ytr.ymca.ca if you'd like to learn more. We're always happy to help you turn Insights into Action.