21 Reasons for Employee Disengagement

Categories: Thought Leadership

Common Reasons for Employee Disengagement

Why do employees become disengaged? Below are some of the most common reasons for employee disengagement:

1. Little Purpose, Meaning or Connection to Organizational Vision

One of the main reasons for employee disengagement is a lack of purpose or meaning in the work. Sometimes, a company’s vision doesn’t resonate with employees. Or the company may fail to give its employees purposeful, meaningful work to perform. A business may have a worthy mission, but it may not communicate it effectively to its workers. If any of these scenarios apply, staff members may feel unfulfilled and begin to disengage from their work.

2. Stagnation

Another of the root causes of employee disengagement is stagnation. If employees languish in the same jobs, doing the same tasks, they are likely to feel unfulfilled and become less invested in their work. But if the company can provide real opportunities for promotion or offer new goals to strive for within the same roles, employees may feel more motivated to pursue advancement.

3. Poor Management

One of the extremely common causes of employee disengagement is ineffective management. Poor management can quickly sap the enjoyment from an employee’s workday and make active disengagement more likely. If managers favor certain employees, articulate expectations poorly and give minimal constructive feedback, workers often feel like cogs in the company machine rather than valued members of the team.

4. Lack of Communication

For worker engagement, clear, consistent communication is essential. Employees need to know what their managers expect from them, and they need clear feedback about how they’re doing in their roles. Without knowing what they can do to improve or what their roles should look like, employees will likely find it difficult to achieve the focus necessary for true engagement.

5. Lack of Feedback

One key aspect of communication is clear feedback. If workers never receive guidance about the strengths of their work and the potential improvements they can make, they may feel less certain about their goals, and their uncertainty may lead to diminished motivation.

6. Inadequate Pay

Employees need adequate pay to feel invested in their work. It’s difficult for staff members to engage fully in the workday if they’re worried about how they’ll afford rent, groceries or child care. When a company shows its workers their value by giving them the wages they deserve, it can often help boost employee engagement.

7. Lack of Recognition

Employees want to know their employers see and acknowledge their hard work. If your business has employees who are pouring their hearts and souls into their work and rarely receiving praise for their accomplishments, they’ll be at a higher risk of burning out and disengaging.

8. Poor Leadership

Poor leadership often extends up the ranks to the senior executive and board of directors. If employees sense that the people steering the ship haven’t set the right course, they may hesitate to become invested in a business that may soon founder. Strong leadership must typically accomplish three main objectives to boost employee engagement. Leaders must exhibit engagement themselves, articulate clearly how employee roles support the company and create a culture that values all aspects of employee positions — not just the few core aspects.

9. Minimal Training and Development

Employees need training and development to thrive. Initial training gives them the tools they need to do their jobs effectively, and ongoing development helps them expand their skills. Without these key elements, it’s hard for them to know how to excel, and they may feel little motivation to do so when the path forward is muddled.

10. Excessive Workload

An excessive workload is exhausting to even the most motivated and willing employees. Giving too much work to employees — or giving them work at a more advanced level than they can currently handle — is an easy way to burn them out.

11. Limited Tools and Resources

Employees need the tools and resources necessary for effectiveness in their roles. Giving them the latest technology, effective training and access to useful information is critical. Otherwise, employees may find their jobs so overwhelming it seems impossible to succeed, and engagement will flag.

12. Limited Teamwork and Collaboration

Teamwork and collaboration often help boost employee engagement by giving them a supportive network of people they can make real connections with. Collaboration also provides avenues where employees can ask questions, share concerns, offer new ideas and develop stronger overall ties with your organization.

13. Few Outlets for Personal Expression

When employers are looking for what causes employee disengagement, they should consider how much employees get to contribute to overall operations. Employees may feel more engaged with their work if they know they can say what they think and have managers and other company leaders take them seriously.

14. Over- or Underqualification

Sometimes, the issue is merely that the employee and the job level are not quite the right fit. An underqualified staff member may feel defeated when the job proves too challenging for their current skill level. An overqualified staff member may find the work too simplistic to be engaging.

15. Apathy

Sometimes employees feel apathetic about work because of something outside the company’s control. Perhaps personal circumstances leave employees with little energy for work, or maybe they’re bored with their current career path and need a change of pace.

16. Personal and Workspace Challenges

Personal challenges can diminish employee engagement. One possibility is that circumstances in employees’ lives are encroaching on their work motivation — for example, if they’re experiencing medical issues or having a family crisis. Another possibility is that employees’ personal workspaces are dampening their productivity. They might be too cold, for instance, or they might have a co-worker who talks distractingly on the phone all day.

17. Lack of Flexibility

Though workplaces need some structure to thrive, being flexible where possible is often essential. If employees can never adjust their hours when they need to, take an unscheduled day off or work remotely when possible, they may feel unfairly boxed in and lose motivation.

18. Minimal Empowerment or Autonomy

Letting employees make decisions on their own allows them to take ownership of their work in a way they can’t when all decisions come down from above. Empowering employees to take ownership can build a more substantial investment in their work and motivate them to see their choices through to success.

19. Lack of Respect

Lack of respect can flow two ways. Maybe an employee doesn’t receive respect from managers or co-workers. Or, the employee may demonstrate little regard for managers or co-workers. Either way, the employee is likely to exhibit decreased engagement.

20. Poorly Followed Values

Most employees want to feel that their workplaces’ values align more or less with their own. If you’ve stated specific values — environmental friendliness, for instance, or greater diversity and inclusivity in the workplace — that you fail to follow through on, employees will likely feel disappointed and find it harder to invest in the company culture.

Work With XL.net to Improve Employee Engagement in Your Workplace

To gain trusted technological tools to align your workforce and increase employee engagement, partner with XL.net. Employee disengagement may be a symptom of challenges like technological obstacles or miscommunications in a company. Strategic use of an engagement alignment plan can help you address the root of the problem by providing the necessary tools to get everyone on the same page. You’ll be able to align your tech to your business goals, increase your staff motivation, and improve company security and profits.