What Are Disengaged Employees And Why It Matters | HRMantra HR Software

What Are Disengaged Employees And Why It Matters | HRMantra HR Software

3-4 Minutes

A disengaged employee is one who does not like coming to work and never really puts in extra effort; he does work for the sake of it. He is least likely to be an evangelist of your company and culture. In fact, a highly disengaged employee will consciously create problems in the company and speak ill of it to others, which leads to an increase in the count of disengaged employees.

Disengaged Employees – Gallup

This glossary explains how to disengage employees. What causes the disengagement of employees? Engaged Employees? Let''s take a look at these in succession, one at a time.

According to Gallup, the highly disengaged workers are not only unhappy at work, they too have a constant feeling as if their needs are not being met and hence they build resentment. According to Gallup, they actually do undo much of what the engaged colleagues accomplish.

For example, when an employee is asked to take up a new project, instead of being elated and welcoming the opportunity, he replies to the email after days of receiving it, and even then never puts in enough effort. He does the bare minimum for every task given to him, takes no initiative, gives no suggestions, is not interested in brainstorming sessions whatsoever. He is not invested enough and hence holds back to continue criticizing the manager and work.

What Causes Employee Disengagement?

The work you do must be fulfilling, and positive as it consumes most part of our weekdays. Here are several elements that might be leaving some or most of your employees disengaged:

• Responsibilities are not justified for the compensation
• There is no growth or scope of skill enhancement
• Unhappiness with stakeholders like immediate manager
• Workload is burning them out
• Employee is a misfit for the organization''s culture
• The employee feels unappreciated

Disengaged Employees? Do Something About It

Re-engaging the disengaged employees may look like a herculean task; however, all this requires is a slight change in the way one approaches. Some simple mantras to help bring a change:

• Ask the right questions to listen and act
• Give a subtle reminder that they are being watched
• Try not to bring numbers in the review meeting once in awhile, keep it honest and real
• Say ''Thank You'' and appreciate the efforts
• Show and let them be part of a bigger picture
• Create more opportunities for them to work and learn the new
• Try offering flexibility in terms of work hours to the employees
• Inform them of the impact of their work on the world. Share both good and bad news with them.

Popular Terms