disengaged employee

5 Ways To Deal With Disengaged Employees And Boost Morale

According to Gallup, “employee engagement [is] the involvement and enthusiasm of employees in their work and workplace.” This enthusiasm encourages individual employees to make a positive impact within their jobs and their immediate communities. It is a crucial factor in organization performance and can be directly attributed to the success of any one company. When employees become disengaged, it can be like a slow burn kill to a company. Once a person becomes disinterested in their work, progress can be hard to come by.

Disengaged employees reduce productivity rates

The core issue here is that disengaged employees often do not hold their work–the company or its mission–in high regard. Even if they did at one point, something has been triggered in them along the way that makes them feel less inclined to work toward the common good or to be productive at all. If your workforce isn’t straight up leaving and creating a considerable turnover, it may seem complacent when disengagement strikes.

And this isn’t just a mental block or concern for the individual. These employees are more likely to do the bare minimum required to get their paycheck and are far more likely to be absent or call out of work. In 2019, it was reported that workplace complacency decreases productivity by 18% and profits by up to 15%.

Disengaged employees are a sign of an institutional problem

Gallup goes on to mention that “employee engagement helps you measure and manage employees’ perspectives on the crucial elements of your workplace culture.” While a disengaged employee (or several) could be a really bad thing for a company’s well-being, the issue does not begin with those that have lost interest. In the past, companies may not have considered disengaged employees as a symptom of a larger problem within the company. In fact, many companies were just acknowledging any lack of enthusiasm on behalf of employees as an employee issue, not a company issue.

In all actuality, people become less starry-eyed about a position when workplace stressors arise. Has new management come in and adjusted the way people feel at work? Does a new work environment or setup make things more difficult, or does it streamline work for your employees? Is there a new owner or direct report that isn’t as kind as it could be? Is positive feedback incorporated into your company’s practices? Is communication difficult or super easy between teams and management levels? Is the hiring process a little murkier than at other, similar institutions? These are all important things to consider if workplace engagement appears to be on the decline.

Morale is integral to workplace engagement

While it may not seem this simple, morale is a key player in encouraging engagement in the workplace. Company culture can be altered and nurtured. However, major change requires consistency and a relatively holistic approach. No one can expect to slap on a new process or have a one-time or rolling training to consider the work complete. That’s all just a bandaid when it comes to morale within the office walls. Only continuous and purposeful actions over time can help with nurturing a healthy workplace culture and reducing employee absenteeism.

Improving morale within the office

So, how can we improve morale within the workplace and actually make meaningful, lasting change? First of all, it does not take a cheerleading squad to ensure that people are feeling great in the workplace. It’s not time to be discouraged by the thought of being sticky-sweet or overly intense, either. Sometimes it just takes stepping back to analyze the good, the bad, and the ugly. It’s time to be proactive.

1. Be willing to acknowledge your faults

Companies, where management and senior-level executives are open to constructive feedback, tend to thrive. This begins with staff familiarity. Build a rapport with your direct reports, and let them know frequently that you are a safe space when they need to voice their opinions or vent about something in the workspace. Be willing to take responsibility for any missteps you may be responsible. This sets a healthy example for your employees to take responsibility for their mistakes in the workplace, which helps to alleviate the stress that can arise and fester.

2. Ask for anonymous, safe feedback

Sometimes the path to an incredible or innovative idea begins with a simple anonymous feedback box. Encourage employees to submit any complaints, suggestions, or overarching thoughts anonymously in a box or receptacle at work. If you have gone hybrid or remote in your work style, this could be achieved by submitting to someone in human resources, who can then assign/allocate the thoughts into one place for management. There are other ways to go about this, but do remember that most CRM software and digital options will have traceable IP addresses linked to them, if not full names or usernames identifying each individual.

An employee engagement survey is also a key option to organize these thoughts. This way, you can ensure you’re receiving feedback from everyone, whereas in an anonymous suggestion setup, less engaged coworkers could choose to opt-out.

3. Provide positive feedback

Is your management team or C-Suite offering positive feedback when it is warranted? It can be surprising how much more willing a team is to work together and how much happier coworkers can be when they hear about their accomplishments more often. Acknowledging wins –big and small – within the work environment can go a long way. It’s one of the best (and easiest) ways to significantly improve employee morale and boost their engagement in the workplace. Even leaving the office or signing off your web-based system with a, “Great work today, y’all!” can be the serotonin boost people need in their lives.

4. Adjust schedules and meetings to work with productivity flow

Since the work from home model became a norm, a big factor in workplace morale has been the expectations around schedules and meetings. Do your workers do their best brainstorming first thing in the morning after a cup of coffee? Are they usually more productive after lunchtime and a blood sugar boost? Is there a window of time you are noticing most of the work being completed within, and can you center the core of their work and meetings around that time?

Yes, it does take a bit of attention to detail. But fixed schedules just are not what they used to be. 95 percent of workers want a flexible working schedule. Small adjustments like making sure catch-up meetings are happening before their client calls can really help to improve the flow of their overall workday.

5. Encourage movement throughout the day

When in doubt, walk it out. Yes, that feels cheesy. But, it’s true. Sitting at a desk as often as we do can make us feel complacent, and movement encourages healthy brain activity. While we aren’t necessarily asking you to encourage your employees to work out during company time – though, it really is a good idea – let them know that getting up to stretch and take a break from their screens is a good thing.

Walking to lunch or up and down some stairs between meetings can go far. If you have the space, a yoga/stretching location in the office is also a great option. Scheduling yoga retreats or offering free classes can strongly aid work/life balance.

Whatever you do, we suggest starting with a management meeting about it, and approaching disengagement as a piece of the puzzle, instead of as a negative. If you had not been made aware of it, then the company itself could not progress in the right direction to optimize retention and overall happiness. More often than not, improving teamwork and community around the workplace can move mountains.

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