4 Top Reasons for Employee Disengagement

Employee disengagement is a major issue for businesses everywhere and there’s a chance that it is creeping up in yours as well. It has been estimated that a whopping 80% of the global workforce either lack engagement or are actively disengaged. This poses a threat not only to productivity, but to the safety of your employees and the public as well. This could also spell doom for your business if left ignored. Let’s take a look at some of the top reasons why employees are disengaged.

Lack of Monitoring

Things like morale and engagement are not abstract. These can be quantified using the right methods, and one of those methods is surveys. You could use Inpulse employee surveys to gauge your employees’ satisfaction and also check where you could improve. You can then compile the results and compare them over time to see if there’s a noticeable improvement in engagement levels.

No Sense of Purpose

One of the things businesses will need to understand is how important purpose is to this new generation of workers. Millennials in particular put a premium on this and will make up the majority of the workforce in 2025. Not only that, but they’re the generation that is the most open to switching jobs. So, you have to work on making sure that they have a sense of purpose at work. 

One of the ways that you can do that is to give them a realistic path to advancement. Another one would be to increase learning and development opportunities. Some employers will decide to subsidise higher education. These are all ways that you can give employees a chance to grow and evolve.

Lack of Feedback

This is another common reason why so many employees feel disengaged at work. You need to give feedback to employees when they’re doing good, not only when they’re doing bad. You will make them feel like they’re only doing things wrong and that their work isn’t being valued. So, make sure that you show appreciation to workers, especially the top-performing ones if you want them to feel appreciated and ensure that they are loyal to you.

Poor Leadership

This is probably one of the most common reasons for disengagement. Sometimes, poor leadership is generalised. But in some cases, it’s only an issue with some of the managers you have in place. This is why you need to evaluate their work with as much scrutiny as you do your workers. You also want to make sure that they accept the responsibility when things go wrong. A leader who always shifts blame is not truly a leader and will sap your team’s morale like nothing else.

You also want to consider instituting an open-door policy and a way to anonymously report grievances. This may allow you to identify patterns. You also have to make sure that you don’t have a pro-management bias when addressing conflict.

These are all major reasons why employees become disengaged. Make sure that you look out for them in your organisation and make the proper corrections.