identify a disengaged employeeEmployee turnover is expensive.

There’s no question about that.

But there’s good news…there are signs that can help you identify a disengaged employee early on, so that you may begin the process of addressing any issues.

Let’s take a look at six different ways that you can identify a disengaged employee in your company and what you can do to turn what seems like lemons into lemonade for your company;



1. Personal and professional enthusiasm is non-existent.

You will notice this kind of behaviour when a new task is being assigned and there’s very little excitement or enthusiasm. This will be particularly noticeable if the employee showed eagerness when taking on new tasks before.

One of the signs of disengagement can be when you notice they’ve stopped showing interest in themselves and their professional growth and development. It starts feeling like they just show up and go through the motions of their work day and then leave.


2. Complaining and gossip are on the rise.

A state of constant complaining and gossip is not great for morale and company culture.

Gossip can affect the emotional state of employees and that in itself can create an unhealthy working environment. This can lead to employees feeling uncomfortable and unwilling to be part of such a negative environment. This leads to an increase in absenteeism, a decrease in productivity and motivation that can ultimately lead to a spike in employee turnover.


3. The silence.

identify a disengaged employeeIf you notice that an employee is becoming increasingly withdrawn from team conversations, meetings, outings and even celebrations this could mean that they are disengaged from their working environment.

This doesn’t refer to introverts who are naturally quiet and prefer alone time to reflect and be productive. We’re referring to employees who are different to how you’ve come to know them in the office environment.

If this withdrawn, rather quiet behaviour continues, the employee will begin to isolate themselves from the happenings of their work environment and this can result in a decrease in quality and output on projects or tasks.


4. Reduced productivity.

It is well documented that a loss in productivity directly impacts your bottom line.

An employee who is less productive impacts the workload and stress levels of his/her peers and it comes at a price to your company. It’s essential that you identify this early on and address it appropriately.


5. Sick days become more frequent.

Employee absenteeism can be expensive for your business.

identify a disengaged employeeUnexpected sick days that become a regular occurrence mean that HR needs to intervene and find somebody to fill in any gaps to ensure important tasks and deadlines are still met.

Your company runs the risk of a loss of productivity when this happens, as fellow employees need to jump in and assist on short notice, which has a snowball effect as their duties, in turn, fall behind.

But what does employee absenteeism actually cost?

Absenteeism costs the SA economy around R12 to 16 billion per annum.”

The Society for Human Resources (SHRM) goes a step further by providing a helpful formula to truly understand what this can cost your company:  

Cost of base payroll + overtime cost + cost of temporary or contract workers / total payroll for full-time employees in the organisation.

If you notice a seemingly healthy employee repeatedly taking sick days, you may want to address the behaviour early on to alleviate the loss of efficiency.

So now that you are able to identify a disengaged employee, what can you do about it?


Let’s look at some ways you can go about boosting a bit of morale:


1. Recognise and appreciate – As a company leader, your employees learn from you. The more you recognise and appreciate your employees for the work that they do, the more likely they are to be engaged and motivated at work.

You can formalise this process too. Many companies have implemented employee recognition programs to drive employee engagement in the workplace.

2. Communicate – Clear communication, we know is the key to happy relationships. This is no different when it comes to your employees. Communicate with them frequently.

If you notice employees displaying disengaged tendencies, try to establish the reason and cause for their disengagement. It may be something that you can fix or clarify quite easily.

For all employees, it is important to communicate the big picture.  This will allow them to work towards achieving company goals. The reason for this is that they now have an understanding as to where the company is headed and on a more granular level what their role is within that picture.

Did you know that: “Companies with engaged employees can outperform those without by 147%”

So go on, get engaging and let us know how it’s working for you and your employees.

identify a disengaged employee

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