Employees increasingly tuning out in the workplace

Employee disengagement is becoming a damaging trend right across workplaces in Australia for various reasons. HR Leader recently spoke with two experts who offered guidance on how to navigate this widespread issue and fix the disconnect.

Having your employees engaged in their job role is, and always has been, a top priority for any business or organisation. Yet throughout Australian workplaces, workers are losing that spark and motivation for their work, affecting productivity, business outcomes, and employee well-being.

HR Leader recently spoke to author and productivity expert Ishan Galapathy and Springfox chief executive of resilience training Peta Sigley about how organisations can re-engage employees.

There are a number of common signs that an employee may be falling out of love with their work, thus becoming disengaged with their job role. Galapathy highlighted absenteeism as an obvious sign that employers should be able to pick up on.

Galapathy said: “Typical answers are absenteeism, clock watching, doing the bare minimum. While these answers are looking outward, I’d like leaders to reflect inward and ask these questions:

1) “Are you always relying on a few diligent individuals to get things done?”

2) “Do you feel responsible to carry the burden of your team and fix most issues yourself?”

3) “Is your general go-to method to solve team issues implementing tech / equipment [that] relies on capital expenditure?

“If you said yes to more than one of these, then the chances are that you are not leveraging the full potential of your team and they are not engaged as much as they could be.”

Sigley focused on signs that may fly under the radar, depending on the job role or industry that you are in.

“[A difficult one to notice] If you are frontline worker at a hospital or a paramedic [for example], is this concept of presenteeism. What we’re talking about here is people that are at work, but they’re just not engaged.

“So, you can imagine if you’ve got an engineer, say at an airport, shift worker, and you think you’ve got a full complement of a team, and only five of them are fully engaged, there’s more likelihood of a critical incident occurring, or patient care not following through correctly,” Sigley said.

“[Therefore], the presenteeism stuff is harder to pick up because you think they’re there, but they’re not really there mentally. They are letting stuff slip through the cracks.”

Root causes of employee disengagement

Underutilisation of employees or a team was pointed towards by both experts as the root cause of disengaged employees, highlighting the need for clarity around job roles.

“Not involving and utilising the full team remains to be the number one reason that has come up for me over the past 25 years across multiple countries, as to why our teams get disengaged. We don’t value them and don’t involve them to create more value to the business,” Galapathy said.

Role clarity was a subject that Sigley spoke at great length about, as it is something that can have a detrimental effect on a wide range of employees, regardless of experience. However, it is an issue that can really dampen the desire of a young, aspiring employee who may be inexperienced in the workforce.

“If people don’t understand why they’re doing something, the motivation is going to be low. They become a bit more disinterested. So, these are the sort of things that I’m looking for. You want to watch things like people saying ‘I don’t understand why we’re doing this, I’m really stressed I’m really bored’,” Sigley said.

“Because even if they don’t have the motivation, they’re going to go and settle for something a little easier. Because they just want the quick win, even if they know they should be focusing on something else.”

Leaders must also create a space where employees feel safe enough to voice their opinions without fear of being ostracised or even flat-out ignored. Even having the courage to speak up can be a massive hurdle for employees, and when the response to that is negative, it will prevent them from doing so in the future, thus creating disengagement.

“I’d be looking for whether people feel safe enough to have a voice. So, do you have an environment where everybody’s sitting around having a team meeting, and you say something, and all you get is crickets? And then the conversation goes on 10 minutes later, and someone says exactly what you said. And you go, I just said that, I literally just said that. What people hear more often through that situation is that they do not matter,” Sigley said.

Tailoring recognition to motivate employees

Solving the issue can be achieved through a wide range of strategies, but one, in particular, stood out, and that was to tailor recognition and rewards in a way that helps motivate disengaged employees.

Key performance indicators (KPIs) and goals are usually the stock-standard process when it comes to motivation, yet high levels of disengaged employees prove that this process on its own won’t get the job done. Instead, a more holistic approach could create that added motivation that employees yearn for.

“Creating a space of understanding through open communication where you can recognise what’s important for people [can be crucial]. That means that you’re listening actively, you’re acknowledging their feedback, you’re acknowledging their perspectives, there’s a safe space for people to raise fears and concerns, but you’re also really giving constructive feedback and recognising them as an individual, is how you should go about it,” Sigley said.

Galapathy listed several ideas that employers could adopt that would see those motivation levels rise, with the theme of it relating to employees being proud of their work.

“Individual level – give them something to be proud of. Recognise individuals for their personal contribution and efforts. Whether it is a certificate of appreciation, mentioning their achievements in newsletters or even placing a poster in the canteen helps individuals to feel that their efforts were noted and valued,” Galapathy said.

“Give them something to talk about that their contributions have made a difference amongst their peers, both at work and outside.”

That boost of confidence from an employer can create the want and desire to continue to contribute to your work. It adds yet another layer of motivation, as employees may begin to chase that appreciation.

“Team level – give them something to brag about. I’ve always believed in 10–12 week team initiatives that neatly snugs into a business quarter. I’ve also believed in getting those teams to present at quarterly town halls or any other appropriate forums,” Galapathy said.

“Publishing team accomplishments in newsletters, internet sites can also help teams to be proud. Employees love to hear the success stories from their fellow colleagues, perhaps more than from a leader behind a lectern with PowerPoint slides.”

Overall, it comes down to feeling like you’re a part of the organisation. Not just a number, nor worker, but in the context that your contribution is directly involved with the organisation moving forward, and achieving its goal.

Often, that disconnect can be created due to the lack of that feeling. If employees don’t have that positive relationship or connection with their organisaton, then motivational levels dwindling is just a natural process.

“Organisation level – give them something to be part of. If you consistently share progress and get teams to showcase their achievements, on a quarterly basis, your workplace culture will soon start to shift for the better.

“Make the workplace such that your employees would feel proud to bring their families and show off what they do to their loved ones. Progress and positivity is infectious,” Galapathy said.

Kace O'Neill

Kace O'Neill is a Graduate Journalist for HR Leader. Kace studied Media Communications and Maori studies at the University of Otago, he has a passion for sports and storytelling.