The great thing about the world of work is that every workplace is different, every employee works differently and every manager is different. No two workplaces are quite the same, thanks to the diverse workforce of today. Unfortunately, this also means that it can be tricky to find the right balance to engage your employees effectively – to some, this may sound unimportant, but engaging your employees is crucial for the future of your business.
Talent Culture tells us that “when employees are engaged, they adopt the vision, values and purpose of the organisation they work for. They become passionate contributors, innovating problem solvers and stunning colleagues.” It’s clear, from that definition alone, that engaged employees are something that every workplace should be striving to maintain.
So, what does a disengaged employee look like?
There are, naturally, some big red flags – individuals who say “I don’t want to be here.” should spark some concern, for example. Most of the time however, disengagement is quiet and can go unnoticed for long periods of time. It’s important to keep an eye out for disengagement and to be looking for ways to turn it around – after all, 75% of employee turnover is preventable.
Keep an eye out for:
Those who are ‘just good enough’
These employees always do just enough and they never strive to go further or do better. They’re hard to spot, because they’ll do what is asked of them, so the work is always up to scratch, but they don’t drive your business forward. In these cases there is usually very little motivation, except to stay employed.
How do you turn it around? Try finding out if there’s something else going on. There could be family issues or other personal problems causing a distraction. You don’t need to fix the problems, you may just need to adjust their role or challenge them in an appropriate way.
Those who waste their weekends
When you’re inspired, fulfilled and engaged at work, it carries over into your personal life. It works the other way too, if you’re listless at work, there’s often little motivation to pursue hobbies on the weekend. If an employee repeatedly shows signs of spending their weekends bored, it could be a disengagement issue.
How do you turn it around? Ask about their hobbies. Once you know what they enjoy to do, find a way to turn their hobbies into something useful or fun around the workplace. Spark their passion again so they’re excited to come to work and excited to live their life to the full.
Those who just don’t seem to care
Overt negativity is a big red flag, but so is apathy and the worst part? It spreads. If you have an employee who seems disinterested or just flippant about their work, they are probably uninspired and find the work either too hard or too easy to bother.
How do you turn it around? Reinforcing the team values, inspiring your employees and challenging them appropriately is important. A challenge for one person may be too easy for another and easy work for one may be a huge mountain for someone else. It’s important to stretch your employees knowledge and widen their horizons but always cater it specifically to the individual.
Those who refuse to work in a team
You know those individuals who are unwilling to work with the rest of the team and believe that their methods are the only way? Every workplace has them and as humans, we are all predisposed to this individualism.
How do you turn it around? Get everyone involved in team building exercises and show each person that you care about their contribution. Show them how working within the team actually makes them better, not weaker.
At the end of the day, if your employees are engaged with your organisation, they will be individuals who are happy to come to work and do their very best – giving you a team full of people who are loyal to you.
When your team is loyal, productivity is at its highest and your organisation can grow and constantly move forward to keep up with the ever changing world of work.
