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7 Factors Responsible for Employee Disengagement

Feb. 1, 2021
And 10 Actionable Tips — Employee engagement helps your organization withstand strong waves of competition and succeed. But, when it comes to establishing employee engagement, it is not at all […]

And 10 Actionable Tips —

Employee engagement helps your organization withstand strong waves of competition and succeed. But, when it comes to establishing employee engagement, it is not at all easy. It is quite challenging to uproot employee disengagement and implant employee engagement. Although the challenge is enormous, you cannot let employee disengagement just be. For if you do, your organization is likely to wither.

Employee disengagement causes chain reactions that produce everything which leads your organization downhill. Loss of productivity, negative work environment, and poor customer experience are some of them. This makes it crucial for you to uproot employee disengagement from your organization.

For this, you first have to understand the root causes of employee disengagement. It is only then that you can develop strategies to eradicate employee disengagement.

Food for Thought from Our 2022 ICT Visionaries

Here is a detailed account of the seven factors which act as the root causes of employee disengagement.

1. Micromanagement – The foundation of employee disengagement
Micromanagement means having excessive control over your employees. Monitoring their activities, manipulating their ways of work are some signs of micromanagement. Its impact is so negative that it pushes your employees towards disengagement. So, it is essential to allow your employees to have some autonomy. Let them work in their unique way, and employee disengagement will begin to fade away.

2. Lack of appreciation
Appreciation is like an energy booster for employees. They always have a wish to receive some recognition from you. If you leave this wish unfulfilled, employee disengagement is likely to take place. Thus, you should make sure to praise your employees for an excellent performance.

3. Absence of Connection
The lack of connection is one significant factor that leads to employee disengagement. It eats away your employees’ dedication and devotion to your organization. So, a secure emotional connection is a must uproot employee disengagement. You can develop it in different ways. Having regular interactions with employees, being empathetic and considerate are some of them.

4. Overload of work
People are particular about the amount of work they have to do. If their limits get pushed, and they have to overwork, they are prone to disengagement. This is quite natural as everyone wishes to have some space for the self. Thus, an overload of work is a significant factor that leads to employee disengagement.

5. Not adjusting to the employee’s needs
Life is uncertain. There are days when the most punctual of the employees get late. There are times when employees need to work from home. For instance, they may have to take care of sick parents at home. Under such circumstances, if you adjust to your employees’ needs, they give their best. But, if you don’t, they are likely to hold grudges against your organization and become disengaged.

6. Work-Life Imbalance
Every individual has many roles to play in his life. An employee, a parent, and a daughter are some of them. When the part of an employee dominates over other roles, work-life imbalance occurs. It happens because of factors such as excessive workload and work stress. But, whatever be the factors responsible, the work-life imbalance leads to employee disengagement.

7. Lack of human treatment
We are humans. We have some basic human needs, like to feel prominent and respected. The same is true for your employees. If you meet their human needs, they leave no stone unturned to ensure your organization’s success. This implies they are likely to get engaged. But, if your employees lack human treatment, they are likely to remain disengaged. Thus, the lack of individual therapy is an essential factor that promotes employee disengagement.

So, these are the factors that act as the root cause of employee disengagement. You can uproot employee disengagement by eliminating them.

10 ACTIONABLE TIPS FOR EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT

Employee Engagement is crucial for an organization to climb the ladder of success. But cultivating an engaged workforce is a challenging task. It takes dedicated efforts, perseverance, and a lot of patience. 

Here are some actionable tips to help you with this challenging task.

1. Hire passionate ones.
There is a big secret to employee engagement. It is to hire passionate employees. If your employees are passionate, you don’t have to put much effort into engaging them. This is because they do their work with engrossment. 

Not only this, their passion for work also makes them fall in love with your organization. As a result, they put dedicated efforts to help your organization succeed. 

So, whenever you hire employees, make sure to utilize the passionate ones.

2. Recognize their efforts.
Recognition is an essential factor in enhancing employee engagement. This is because it fulfills the most basic need of all human beings (i.e. to feel important and valued). If your employees feel that you appreciate their efforts, they’ll give their best performance daily. 

So, you should recognize your employees for their excellent work. Even simple words of appreciation from your side will do the job.

3. Establish good employee relations.
To give 100% at work, your employees should first be happy with you. If they are not, they are likely to remain disengaged. 

So, what can you do to make them comfortable with you? It’s simple: establish good employee relations. 

For this, you have to give them proper human treatment. This implies that you should take care of your employees’ basic human needs. Here, we are not talking about washroom facilities, hygiene, and other similar things. Instead, we are talking about the emotional needs of your employees. Respect, affection, and a sense of belonging are some of them. 

Thus, you should make efforts to establish good relations for employee engagement.

4. Conduct workplace wellness programs.
Your employees can work with dedication and engrossment only if they are fit and healthy. This gives you a great responsibility to help your employees stay healthy. You can shoulder this responsibility well by conducting workplace wellness programs. These programs promote employee well-being. 

There are different workplace wellness programs that you can organize. Stress management programs, yoga classes, and aerobics classes, are some of them. 

Thus, you can promote employee engagement by conducting wellness programs.

5. Help your employees grow.
When you help your employees grow in their careers, they improve your organization, too. They devise effective strategies, work with engrossment, and try their best to help your organization climb the ladder of success. 

So, you can enhance employee engagement by helping your employees grow.

6. Promote healthy relationships between employees.
Employee happiness is an essential factor that promotes employee engagement. If your employees are happy, their energy level and engrossment soar high. But, if they are not excited, their energy level and engagement drops down. So, you need to work on enhancing employee happiness. 

Further, promoting healthy relationships between employees is one of the best ways to do so. For this, you can organize office parties, outings, and games, in your organization.

7. Be transparent.
Transparency is important. It gives your employees the impression that you consider them essential. They love being a part of an organization with openness. As a result, they show high engagement at work. So, you need to be transparent with your employees.

8. Say No to micromanagement.
Having a sense of autonomy is a fundamental human need. 

When you try to make your employees work in your way, they feel irritated and frustrated. They feel robbed of their ability to work in their style. As a result, they do not work with engrossment and remain disengaged. 

Thus, to establish employee engagement, you should give them some autonomy. You should refrain from micromanagement. You should let your employees work in their way. Undoubtedly, you can tell them what you expect from them, but the rest should be up to them.

9. Be empathetic.
Empathy is the ability to understand the feelings of others. It is a basic human need. 

Thus, your employees expect you to be empathetic towards them. For instance, if they suffer from a health problem, they hope you to understand their pain. They expect you to treat them in a kind and considerate manner.

 If you fail to meet this fundamental need, your employees are likely to remain disengaged. 

So, you need to be empathetic towards your employees. This implies that you should support them in their tough times, show your concern, and act in a considerate manner.

10. Promote teamwork.
Teamwork is the key to employee engagement. It reduces individual workload and promotes healthy relationships between employees. Along with this, working together as a team is exciting and fun too. This makes your employees fall in love with their work even more. As a result, they show higher levels of engagement. So, you should try to assign group tasks to your employees.

To conclude, YOU CAN SUCCEED IN CULTIVATING AN ENGAGED WORKFORCE with the help of the tips mentioned above.

About the Author: Jessica Robinson is an educational writer, and has even penned down many motivational blogs for various websites. She spills the magic of her thoughts through her blog “The Speaking Polymath”, in which she makes the reader experience her management proficiency along with her skill to resolve matters of global importance.
Email: [email protected]
LinkedIn Profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jessica-robinson10/
Twitter Profile: https://www.twitter.com/jessicarobss
Blog: https://www.assignmenthelp4me.com/thespeakingpolymath

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