How to Recognize Employee Disengagement in The Workplace (An…

A goal of leadership is to ensure that each employee is actively engaged in the workplace and drives results through productive, effective work. But this isn’t always realistic. For many reasons, employees can become actively disengaged and lack the motivation needed to achieve results.

When employee disengagement sets in, it can have a detrimental impact on your business and its goals. But how do you recognize the signs of a disengaged employee? And more importantly, what can you do about it?

In this article, we’ll examine the core reasons why employees become disengaged in the workplace, share several examples of employee disengagement, and provide tried-and-tested strategies to improve employee engagement.

What is Employee Disengagement?

Employee disengagement is a lack of interest and commitment to a workplace. It shows up as minimal output, unproductive and inefficient results, prolonged distraction and time-wasting, and a lack of excitement and enthusiasm for the job and its requirements.

Disengaged employees often feel disconnected from their work, the business, and its goals. This results in minimal effort and a challenge to exceed in their role.

Employee disengagement can happen for lots of reasons, including poor leadership, lack of professional development and growth opportunities, excessive workload, poor work/life balance, and unclear expectations.

The Negative Impact of Employee Disengagement

When an employee becomes actively disengaged, this significantly impacts their ability to perform at the required level and fulfill the expectations and responsibilities of their role. 

This damages a business’s return on investment (ROI) because, ultimately, employees are there to drive results. 

Here are a few other ways employee disengagement can impact a workplace:

• Decrease in productivity: Employee disengagement can result in reduced efficiency and effectiveness, which impacts individual, team, and company performance.
• Increase in employee turnover: According to Gallup, disengaged employees are more likely to look for a new job, which impacts employee turnover.
• Increase in hiring costs: A knock-on effect of turnover from disengaged employees is hiring needs and recruitment costs will increase.
• Negative customer experience: Actively disengaged employees might provide a less-than-expected service, impacting customer satisfaction and company reputation.
• Decrease in employee morale: An employee who badmouths a business or actively shows dissatisfaction will negatively impact other employees’ engagement, impacting morale and teamwork.

7 Causes of Employee Disengagement

Employee disengagement stems from factors that reduce motivation, job satisfaction, and commitment.

Here are some of the primary causes of employee disengagement and dissatisfaction in the workplace:

1. Poor management and leadership

Ineffective leadership, including lack of clear direction, support, and unspecific or unclear feedback, will almost certainly lead to employee disengagement. 

Managers who lack effective communication skills, provide inconsistent or unfair treatment, display signs of favoritism, or fail to recognize and reward contributions can erode employee morale and cause deep levels of disengagement within a company.

2. Limited career development and growth opportunities

Employees who feel they don’t have a clear path to career advancement or opportunities to develop new skills may become disengaged. For example, a lack of professional development, performance reviews, or mentoring can make employees feel directionless, stuck, and undervalued.

3. Lack of recognition and appreciation

Employees need to feel that their work is valued and recognized. A lack of acknowledgment for achievements or contributions can lead to disengagement. Regular, meaningful recognition and appreciation through positive feedback, 1-on-1s, and open communication channels are essential for maintaining motivation and employee engagement.

Get 15Five’s 1-on-1 Template here and make your meetings more productive

4. Unclear expectations and roles

When employees aren’t clear about their roles and expectations, they lose direction and purpose. They need to understand how their work drives results and contributes to the organization’s success.

5. Unhealthy workplace culture

A negative or toxic work environment, characterized by poor communication, lack of trust, favoritism, or conflicts, can result in disengagement. And a workplace culture that doesn’t promote diversity, equity, and inclusion or lacks mutual respect and collaboration can quickly alienate well-intentioned employees.

6. No autonomy or empowerment

Employees who don’t feel empowered to make decisions or who are micromanaged may become disengaged. A lack of autonomy can stifle creativity and innovation, leading to frustration and disengagement.

Repetitive or unchallenging work can also lead to boredom, which creates a lack of engagement. Employees are more likely to be engaged when their work is stimulating, use their skills effectively, and are offered opportunities for problem-solving and creativity.

7. Work-Life imbalance

Excessive workloads, lack of flexibility, and poor work-life balance can lead to burnout and disengagement. Employees who are overwhelmed and unable to balance their work and personal lives may feel stressed and undervalued.

How to Recognize Employee Disengagement

According to Gallup’s 2023 State of the Global Workplace report, only 23% of employees are actively engaged in their workplace. This means that 77% of employees in your workplace are potentially not engaged or actively disengaged, which seriously impacts your company’s ability to achieve results.

Here’s how to recognize the signs of a disengaged employee:

• Decrease in productivity: A noticeable drop in the quality or quantity of work can be a sign of employee disengagement. For example, an employee might finish tasks efficiently or need help to meet deadlines.
• Decrease in quality: Disengaged employees often produce work that lacks attention to detail or creativity. They might meet only the bare minimum requirements or deliver incomplete or substandard work.
• Lack of initiative: Disengaged employees often show a lack of enthusiasm for their work. They avoid taking on new projects, resist change, or show little interest in improving processes or contributing ideas.
• Negative outlook: Disengaged employees may be openly critical of company decisions and show little interest in business outcomes. They may also disagree with policies, complain, and express dissatisfaction with management or other team members.
• Increase in absenteeism: Higher rates of absenteeism and frequent lateness can indicate a lack of employee engagement. However, absenteeism can also indicate employee burnout, illness, or increased caregiving responsibilities.
• Minimal participation: Actively disengaged employees often don’t participate in meetings or team discussions. They avoid conversation, don’t share opinions or ideas, or lack the enthusiasm to volunteer for additional responsibilities or tasks.
• Withdrawal from coworkers: A decrease in interaction with coworkers can be a sign of disengagement. For example, the employee might isolate themselves, collaborate less frequently, or detach themselves from their team.
• Lack of professional development: Employees who are actively disengaged may show little interest in professional growth. For example, they might avoid training opportunities, fail to seek feedback, or show no interest in career advancement.

How to Keep Employees Engaged in the Workplace

Focus on manager enablement

Manager enablement gives managers the right skills, tools, and resources they need to do their jobs and build a positive, healthy work environment. Enablement can provide leaders with training to improve communication, feedback, and conflict-resolution skills.

For example, use 15Five’s Transform tool to eliminate skill gaps, build tailored training, and drive high performance.

Enable your leadership team to succeed by creating clear company goals that can easily be shared and communicated effectively across the organization. Empower managers throughout the decision-making process and involve them where appropriate.

Download our Manager Enablement Playbook for HR Leaders

Conduct employee engagement surveys

Gather regular feedback from employees to identify improvement areas and measure engagement strategies’ effectiveness. 

Use an anonymous employee survey to encourage open, honest feedback. Include questions on job satisfaction, management, work environment, and professional development opportunities. Then, the results will be analyzed to uncover trends and areas that need attention and implement changes. 

Don’t forget to keep employees informed about progress with transparent updates that include the steps you’re taking to make change happen based on their feedback.

Schedule regular employee check-ins

Frequent one-on-one check-ins between managers and employees can help address concerns and provide support, which helps keep employees engaged. Use these meetings to discuss career goals, provide feedback, and address any issues or challenges the employee faces in the workplace. 

One-on-ones are the ideal setting to collaborate with your employees. Use the allotted time to set achievable goals, review their progress, and unblock any barriers to succeeding in their goal.

Show employee recognition

Recognize and appreciate employee efforts and achievements to help drive engagement. For example, implement formal recognition programs that reward employees for outstanding performance, innovation, and teamwork.

Acknowledge achievements publicly in meetings, company newsletters, or internal communication channels like email or Slack. 

Remember that not all employees want public recognition, so check in to ensure that it’s okay to acknowledge the achievement with the broader team or the public.

Invest in professional development

Provide opportunities for learning and growth. For example, hold regular training sessions or workshops that help employees develop new skills, upskill, or expand their knowledge related to their jobs and performance. 

Create personalized career development plans that outline potential career paths and how an employee can achieve that goal. Pair less experienced employees with seasoned professionals who can provide guidance, education, and additional support.

Start increasing engagement levels today

A disengaged employee is often a result of poor leadership, underdeveloped company goals, limited opportunities for professional development, and lack of autonomy. Equip your managers and teams with the right tools to create prepared leadership and engaged employees. Book a demo today.