Low employee engagement levels are a major reason of concern for businesses as they can severely affect business turnover. An actively engaged employee is passionate about his work and feels motivated to perform to the best of their abilities. On the contrary, a disengaged employee is dissatisfied, uninterested in working and fails to produce successful outcomes.
No employee is disengaged when they are new to a company. They are always excited in the beginning about what their future in the company looks like. But eventually, there is a noticeable decline in their engagement which deteriorates their productivity. Over the course of time, they can become a liability for the company.
To be able to transform a disengaged employee, you need to be able to first identify one. Here are 6 tell-tale signs of an actively disengaged employee:
- Declining performance:
The most obvious sign of disengagement is a decline in the work output of an employee. They start missing deadlines and become complacent, and their will to perform takes a backseat.
Since they do not feel engaged, they show no interest in fulfilling their responsibilities. This leads to a decline in not just the amount of work they are producing but also the quality of their work.
- Not interested in learning:
Businesses have adopted modern learning tools like Absorb LMS which makes learning very convenient. But even after that if you notice an employee failing to engage with the training content, it’s a sure-shot sign.
Engaged employees want to grow in their careers and look at L&D opportunities as a way of achieving growth. Showing no interest in learning new skills or failing to complete training is a clear sign that an employee is disengaged.
- Don’t collaborate with colleagues:
A lack of participation and collaboration is a very obvious sign of disengagement. When employees start losing interest in their work, they do not take the initiative to communicate with others.
While this happening once or twice could indicate they may be just having a bad day, but when they refrain from collaborating with any of their peers it is a sign that they are actively disengaged.
- Longer than usual breaks:
Taking short breaks between work is considered healthy as it helps employees destress. But when an employee starts taking too many breaks or taking too much break time, it reflects their unwillingness to work.
When closely observed, you will start noticing a change in their usual routine. They spend time away from work as much as possible which makes them unreliable.
- Failing to contribute in meetings:
Managers conduct meetings to discuss work and ensure everyone is on the same page about important information. This gives everyone a platform to share their ideas and engage with others during the meeting.
Disengaged employees can be easily identified in a meeting because of their silence and lack of participation. They show disinterest in the discussion at hand and make stay gloomy throughout waiting for the meeting to end.
- Burnout:
Prolonged stress can cause employees to feel exhausted and mentally tired. Their energy gets depleted and they are unable to finish any task at hand.
Lack of recreation and off-days can lead to employees feeling burnt out. If an employee has been under constant work pressure, they may turn from being highly active to highly disengaged.
Conclusion:
A disengaged employee will not contribute in any way to the growth of the business. If the number of disengaged employees in a company begins to increase, it can become a huge financial setback in the coming future. This makes it vital to spot signs of employee disengagement early on and take the necessary steps to re-engage them.