If you are looking for insights on how to engage disengaged employees at work, this blog is for you!
According to a report by Gallup, only 32% of employees are engaged in their work in the US, costing around $1.9 trillion in lost productivity.
When employees do not enjoy the assigned responsibilities and are in a bad relationship with their seniors, they feel disinterested in the work.
It can be daunting for you, as a manager, to re-engage them in their job role. Thus, I am writing this blog for you to help you with tips and strategies to engage disengaged employees and skyrocket your organisation’s productivity.
What are the Potential Reasons for Disengagement?
Let’s have a look at potential reasons for disengagement at work:
Lack of Purpose
What gives meaning to one’s life? Purpose right?
People are willing to go to any length to find this sense of purpose. If they do not find it at the workplace, repetitive tasks in their job role exhaust them, making work life purposeless and boring.
Toxic Work Culture
Not having a realistic deadline, constant workload, and treating employees like “use and throw material” creates a sense of resentment. And these are clearly the signs of a toxic work culture.
Now, people are willing to work for less pay rather than being associated with a toxic workplace that may offer higher pay.
Poor Leadership
Nothing is more dangerous for organisations than having seniors who are weak, self-entitled, and lack empathy.
People trust people. With such seniors, employees will never be able to place their trust fully in them, resulting in their disinterest and lack of enthusiasm at work.
No Work Flexibility
Having a work style that is too rigid also leads to disinterest among employees. For example, leaders who micromanage their team members withdraw their autonomy and make them feel uneasy at work.
Lack of Recognition
The human mind is designed to work for reward. When we achieve something and get a reward, happy chemicals are released in our brains and give a sense of euphoria. This feeling makes people work harder to achieve it again.
In a workplace, when employees are not given proper recognition for their work, they start withdrawing themselves from the accomplishments of the organisation.
Signs of Disengaged Employees
Following are the signs of a disengaged employee:
● Underperforming at work
● Being absent without proper reason
● Not willing to participate in team activities.
● Doing tasks just for the sake of completion
● Not working with enthusiasm and curiosity.
● Frequently engaging in verbal fights with peers
● Constantly complaining and showing negative behaviour
● Showing a pessimistic attitude and demotivation others
Best Strategies to Engage Employees at Work
1. Give the Opportunity to Change
If your employees feel uncomfortable in the assigned roles and are troubled to manage their tasks, try assigning them a new role or project to make them feel more connected and understood. Having the right people in the right roles is the key to developing a productive organisation.
You should also make sure that the set goals are realistic and achievable in the following quarter.
Once you have the right people with the right skill sets at the right place, giving them autonomy and trusting them with their job roles is the best way to show that you trust them.
2. Show Empathy
Empathy is what makes us connect to others. The same applies to employees. They want their managers to understand their problems and value their ideas.
Remember by showing empathy to employees, you can develop a healthy workplace culture of engagement.
3. Know their Personality Type
Knowing your employees’ personality type is the wisest initiative an employer can take. For example, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is an easy way to learn the employee’s personality type.
When you recognise their strengths, communication styles, and preferences, you can tailor your approach to meet their needs effectively.
4. Health and Wellness
Taking health initiatives, especially mental health, can be a game changer. As per the latest available report from WHO, “15% of working adults have had a mental health problem of some kind at any point in time.”
Every organisation should organise mental health workshops to promote the mental health of their employees. This makes employees build healthier relationships with their colleagues and they become more engaged at work.
5. Sense of Purpose
Money is never the sole purpose for employees to bring their best selves to work. It is the duty of managers to make employees see how their work contributes to the larger picture.
Set goals in alignment with the company’s goal so they can see how their work directly impacts its success. This makes them more engaging and driven towards growth.
6. Extracurricular Activities
Having the same routine daily makes life mundane, and employees lose their zest at work. Including extracurricular activities such as healthy mini-competitions, wellness programs, creative workshops and industry visits allows employees to relax and have fun outside of their daily tasks.
Final Thoughts
As managers, engaging disinterested and disengaged employees at work can be cumbersome but it is essential to keep the firm running effectively. Start by assigning the right people to the right place and offer them feedback on how they can improve.
In case, an employee is not willing to re-engage, letting them go is the best option. An organisation can’t afford disengagement for too long, and it will impact its growth trajectory in the long run.
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