With increased coverage in mainstream HR publications about employee burnout, heavy work demands and fatigue, it is evident that work experiences are compromising the well-being and productivity of many employees.
Recent research conducted by Gallup, global leaders in engagement research, revealed that worldwide employee engagement declined to 21 per cent in 2024, with managers experiencing the steepest drop.
Disengaged employees often demonstrate a noticeable drop in performance, such as missed deadlines, lack of initiative or frequent absenteeism. They may seem emotionally checked out, avoiding collaboration and showing little interest in growth or feedback. A disengaged mindset can also manifest as boredom, negativity and a tendency to fill time with non-work activities such as excessive scrolling or pretending to be busy.
Disengagement can be contagious, especially when the individual feeling that way is responsible for managing other people.
Taking a PHS Approach to help re-engage employees
It can be easy to assume this behaviour simply boils down to the individual having a poor attitude. However, disengagement is a psychosocial hazard that should be assessed and addressed as such.
Psychosocial hazards like burnout and disengagement can be invisible. Chronic pressure to perform, the feeling of not belonging or the absence of genuine feedback and recognition can slowly unravel even the most passionate team member.
Each employee perceives your workplace in a unique way. What is good for one employee might be challenging for another.
When you take a PHS approach you look at the big picture, including how your workplace and the systems you have in place might create both positive and negative experiences for employees. If not managed properly, factors such as perceived workload, poor leadership support, social isolation or lack of recognition can accumulate.
Using a Psychological Health and Safety (PHS) lens can help you take a caring and proactive approach rather than a command and control disciplinary style to address the issue. This approach acknowledges that disengagement isn’t weakness; it’s a stress response to environments that no longer feel safe or supportive.
It starts by having a conversation without judgment, being respectful and empathetic and accepting the possibility that the employee would find a way to feel more encouraged and engaged if they could.
Three steps to support a disengaged employee
A person demonstrating signs of disengagement is a form of mini-crisis. Going to work is a burden, and work has become a negative factor impacting their emotions, thoughts and behaviours. In this mental state, disengaged employees typically begin to languish, which can result in unconstructive and unproductive behaviour.
The following three-step, crisis-ready PHS coaching approach described below can help you and other leaders in your organization support an employee who appears or reports to be in this state.
It is not designed to facilitate a corporate overhaul to change employee engagement across the organization. It is based on creating a sense of hope and opportunity and providing individual employees with a psychologically safe connection. Knowing that someone cares and is willing to help them explore options can help them feel better.
The only requirements are a caring approach and commitment to building trust and helping the individual reengage. You may not make an instant connection, but if you approach the employee in a non-threatening manner and accept that there may be resistance and defensiveness, you can slowly begin to rebuild trust and engagement.
Step 1: Spot the signs of disengagement - Noticing is not about surveillance; it involves sensitive observation and empathy assess situations where you suspect an employee is not having a positive experience or does not feel connected.
Step 2: Approach with openness - Acknowledge that some of the disengagement could be rooted in the employee’s experience with how work is organized, equipment, resources and interpersonal relationships. This acknowledgement can help the individual feel less guarded and more willing to engage in the conversation.
Step 3: Reset, reframe and rebuild - This step helps to gently reset the employee’s mindset and internal narrative. It is a creative and collaborative process built around possibility and empowerment.
Your employees want to be engaged
Employees don’t just work for paycheques; they come to work for meaning, connection and a sense of contribution. When you slow down, listen and make an effort to help disengaged employees reset, you may rediscover what brought them to the role in the first place. This spark of energy can be found again.
In the next post, we’ll explore this three-step process in greater detail and I’ll break down specific steps you can take to help your employees feel supported, connected and engaged.
Get to know the authors –Dr. Bill Howatt
Fresh Communications in collaboration with WSPS : May 26, 2023
Dr. Bill Howatt