In a perfect world, workers would be fully engaged in their tasks without requiring managers’ involvement. However, disengagement is more common than ever, and training professionals have a role to play in reengaging employees. Knowing disengagement’s impacts, how to identify it, and ways to recapture staff’s attention can help decision-makers make their workforces even more effective.
The Dangers of Disengagement
Financially, disengagement can take a significant toll on a brand. Employees who are less engaged or completely disengaged cost $8.8 trillion worldwide in lost productivity. Gallup asserts that enterprises are the ones responsible for creating an engaging work experience and that those that don’t understand this miss out on significant profits.
Disengagement can also have physical dangers. In jobs like manufacturing, where heavy equipment is in frequent use, not paying attention could lead to critical injuries and property damage. Additionally, in sectors like health care or finance, people’s lives and monetary well-being are on the line, so missing important details can be highly damaging.
How to Tell If Workers Are Disengaged
The fastest way to find disengaged staff members is to see which ones are:
- Frequently absent: While some employees are more absent than others due to disability, family reasons or other factors, a sudden uptick in absenteeism may warrant closer scrutiny.
- Increasingly quiet: Look for workers who used to be more vocal but now rarely contribute during meetings, offer fewer ideas or are less conversational than usual. If they also stop asking questions about any tasks handed to them, they may not be genuinely engaged in the work.
- Changing their disposition: Take note if someone seems to be more down or irritable at work than they used to be.
For concrete numbers on who is engaged and disengaged, the American consulting firm McKinsey & Company recommends asking how likely people are to quit within the next three to six months, whether they have another job, their level of satisfaction and commitment, how their supervisors would rate them, and their overall level of well-being.
Having more than one full-time job automatically classifies workers as being in the middle of the spectrum. Based on the answers to the questions, McKinsey’s framework allows leaders to categorize employees on a spectrum, identifying everyone from “thriving stars” who are highly engaged to “quitters” who are actively disengaged.
Tips for Reengaging Staff
After identifying that a portion of the workforce is disengaged, it’s essential to determine what still motivates them to come to work. Extrinsic motivation is defined as coming from outside factors, such as getting a raise for exceptional performance or a treat for attending a training. Alternatively, intrinsic motivation is the drive that originates from within, such as a desire for autonomy or a sense of purpose. Effective training leaders and decision-makers consider both when creating a work environment that fosters deeper connections with employees.
Take a moment to assess the current culture. Is everyone aligned in their goals, and do they have the resources to achieve them? Are there conflicts or outside forces causing tension? Surveying workers for feedback can help identify the specific problems they’re experiencing. These issues can then be discussed in one-on-one check-ins and broader team meetings. Then, start formulating a plan for easing the most common or glaring pain points.
It’s also vital to ask people directly what could make their work experience better. Improvements will only be effective if people genuinely want them. Doing so could allow some team members to bring up personal matters that leaders were previously unaware of, which could both clarify their disengagement and offer ways to assist them.
Financial investments, such as on-site gyms or catering, might not always be feasible. In these instances, researchers recommend teaching employees ways they can work with what they have. For example, if they can only invest half of themselves in a workday, doing so consistently is better than not being engaged at all.
An Engaged Workforce Is a Productive Workforce
When workers feel more satisfied with their workplace, they may be more likely to stay. After all, all they want is to feel respected and heard by the higher-ups. When training leaders, decision-makers and other professionals take a genuine interest in reengaging staff, they can discover the true root of disengagement and remedy it more effectively.
