When we talk about employee engagement, we focus on three groups of people within a company: those that are Engaged, Not Engaged, and Actively Disengaged.

According to Gallup’s State of the American Workplace Survey, 70% of all employees are either “Not Engaged” or “Actively Disengaged;” only 30% are “Engaged.” To put each group in perspective, think about it like this…

If the company is a sailboat with 10 crew members onboard, three of them are tacking and jibing with all their might, five are enjoying the view, and the last two people threw the anchor in the water while no one was looking.

Over the next few posts, we’ll explore each of these three groups.  Let’s begin with the employees who are “Actively Disengaged.”

“’Actively Disengaged’ employees aren’t just unhappy at work; they’re busy acting out their unhappiness. Each day, these workers undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.1” Like the anchor in the water, they slow the company’s progress because of the injustices they’ve experienced—whether real or imagined. They become more angry, bitter, and resentful over time and actively look for ways to retaliate against the company. Their retribution ranges from mild to severe. The degree of impact in the examples below is relative to the type of goods or services the company provides.

  • Working slowly
  • Speaking negatively about the company (including social media posts)
  • Actively resisting change initiatives
  • Dropping customer calls intentionally
  • Failing to follow up as promised
  • Posting disparaging remarks about the company online – anonymously of course
  • Frequent absenteeism
  • Hiding or destroying unprocessed work
  • Destroying equipment or data
  • Stealing company resources and assets
  • Workplace violence

Managers are no exception; they are employees too.  “Actively Disengaged” Mangers have been known to:

  • Intentionally impede the progress and promotion of direct reports
  • Slow or stall the hiring process
  • Work against change management projects
  • Hold back information needed by their direct reports and superiors

 

The company must identify these “Actively Disengaged” employees and take action to address the root of their concerns. While it may be possible to reengage these employees, the company should be prepared to sever the relationship with the employee to prevent further damage or loss.  Even at 18% of the company’s total population, this group has the greatest potential to negatively impact the company’s productivity and profitability. Next, we’ll consider the largest group, the “Not Engaged.” While the goal is to engage all employees, the company must work to prevent those that are “Not Engaged” from becoming “Actively Disengaged.”

 

1 p.21 of the Survey