The top 7 reasons you can’t afford to have disengaged employees

Employee disengagement has hit a 9-year high. According to Gallup, the number of employees who are actively not engaged has risen each year since 2020. At any given time, they estimate that up to 80% of your employees are disengaged, and that disengagement can cost as much as 30% of each person’s annual salary.

Think of it this way, if you have 100 full-time employees, disengagement and turnover are costing you around $1,680,000 annually. You can use this calculator to find out how much it’s really costing your organization.

As we think about the concerns leaders today are facing, this rise of disengagement is right at the top of the list. 

Here are just a few of the side effects your organization feels when employees are lacking engagement.

Decreased Productivity

Disengaged employees are often less motivated to perform their tasks efficiently and effectively. As a result, productivity levels within the organization suffer. Tasks take longer to complete, errors increase, and overall output declines. This reduction in productivity can significantly impact an organization's bottom line.

High Turnover Rates

Disengaged employees are more likely to seek employment elsewhere. When employees don't feel connected to their work or the organization, they are more inclined to explore other job opportunities. High turnover rates can be costly for companies in terms of recruitment, training, and lost knowledge and experience.

Negative Workplace Culture

Disengaged employees can have a contagious effect on workplace culture. Their lack of enthusiasm and commitment can spread, creating a toxic environment where morale is low, teamwork is strained, and conflicts are common. This negative culture can further contribute to employee disengagement, creating a destructive cycle.

Increased Absenteeism

Disengaged employees are more likely to take sick days or leave without a valid reason. They may feel overwhelmed by their lack of interest in their work or may simply disengage by physically avoiding the workplace. Increased absenteeism can disrupt workflow and lead to additional stress on the remaining employees.

Poor Customer Service

For customer-facing roles, disengaged employees can be particularly detrimental. When employees are disengaged, they are less likely to provide excellent customer service, leading to dissatisfied customers, reduced customer loyalty, and potential revenue loss.

Decline in Innovation and Creativity

Disengaged employees are less likely to contribute innovative ideas or think creatively about solving problems. In a world where innovation is key to staying competitive, a lack of creative thinking can hinder an organization's ability to adapt and thrive.

Increased Costs

As we mentioned at the beginning of the article, disengaged employees can result in significant increased costs for organizations. But other monetary factors to consider are recruitment and training expenses for new hires, overtime pay to cover for absent employees, and potential legal costs related to workplace conflicts and dissatisfaction.

How to Solve for Disengagement

But it’s not all doom and gloom. As the world of work continues to evolve with technology, remote work, and new employee needs, it’s critical we, as leaders, pivot with it. 

The solution is more simple than you might think, and we’ve written a number of resources to help you with the details of employee engagement. Here are just a few:

• Your ultimate guide to solving for employee engagement and retention
• Beyond Trendy Perks: What Employees Really Want for a Rewarding Workplace Experience
• How Top Organizations Prevent Employee Turnover
• How To Measure Employee Engagement
• Quiet Quitting - a Threat or an Opportunity?
• Webinar: How to Create a Culture of Employee Engagement (And Increase Your Bottom Line)

But at the end of the day, engagement is tied to every person on your team understanding your mission and how their role directly contributes to the outcomes. Leadr is a digital workspace that allows for this kind of clarity by making managers effective leaders who build healthy, connected teams. 

Our 5-step framework allows managers to:

• Lead better meetings
• Engage in feedback
• Act on goals
• Develop their team
• Recognize wins 

When these activities are all in one, easy-to-use platform, you'll get: 

• Visibility for executives
• Alignment for leaders
• Clarity for teams 
• Increased performance

See for yourself by checking out a quick product overview of the tool or requesting a custom demo for your team.

At Leadr, we’re serious about creating an engaging workplace culture. We were named #4 on Dallas Morning's News 2022 Best Places to Work and # 12 on Will Reed's 2023 Top 100 Workplaces because we utilize our tool to develop and engage our team members. And we can tell you, it works.