Businesses may consider their market share or their healthy financial reserves as their biggest assets, but they probably boast something else of great value that they may not perceive as such. And that is the people who work for them.

According to Kevin Friery, clinical director at Right Management Workplace Wellness, this means employee engagement is "critical" to making a company successful.

After all, good relationships between members of staff and the bosses can go a long way in a business environment. Workers will be more motivated and productive, so they will be especially keen and willing to innovate.

This could be vital to the long-term success of a firm, as it means people at every level of a business are fully committed to delivering good results. This may in turn aid staff retention rates, as employees would be less likely to become disaffected and look elsewhere to further their professional development.

Mr Friery noted that the employment relationship has changed a great deal as a result of recent economic troubles in Britain, as people have different attitudes to their job and new life expectations.

Furthermore, he said employers themselves probably have fewer resources with which to deliver their core services. As a result, they need to have their staff on side and make the most of this valuable tool at their disposal.

"Employers can only succeed if they have understood the needs, abilities and motivation of their staff and created a psychological contract that supports these," Mr Friery commented.

"Good staff relationships form a cornerstone of corporate social responsibility. It would be foolish to ignore this."

Working to develop a good rapport between bosses and employees is surely a win-win scenario all round. The people at the top can be sure their staff are committed, hardworking and dedicated to working for the company's best interests. And employees will be happy and confident when they go about their day to day tasks and genuinely keen to do their best, rather than just turn up and coast.