Do you remember the last time you felt totally, utterly miserable at work? Do remember those feelings of despair, dread and hopelessness? Were you at the top of your game? Probably not. You were probably running through the motions, like a robot, constantly looking at the clock for break time, lunch time, sayonara time and every time in between.

That’s called disengagement, folks.

And it’s an epidemic that is hurting the careers of employees and managers alike—not to mention the performance of companies worldwide.

Recent Gallup study shows that disengagement is a major workplace issue

A recent study from Gallup showed that less than one-third of US workers are engaged at their jobs. That’s a whopping percentage of people that couldn’t care less about their work. At Greatify, we find that number all too unsurprising, but sad. Imagine working 40-plus hours at a job you hate? #whywhywhy

Studies abound as to why people feel so disengaged at work. While the research does vary on some aspects, several main causes come back time and again. Workers become disengaged from an overall lack of:

• Appreciation and recognition: People want to feel as though they are actually important to the team and company
• Clear, achievable goals: People want to have realistic goals that can be accomplished and broken down into bite-sized chunks—not some lofty, fuzzy objective to be achieved in the next 10 years.
• A sense of progress: People want to feel as though they are evolving, by being able to successfully accomplish day-to-day tasks, deliver a major project, and evolve in their careers.
• Regular communication: People want to understand their company’s vision and strategies.
• Empowerment: Empowered employees and managers do get the job done well—no Big Brother monitoring or constant check-ups required.

After reading through the list, did you just nod your head remembering one time or another where you couldn’t tick off any or all of these points off your list? Everybody’s got a story to tell on how they’ve felt disengaged at work. Whether you are the lowest or highest in your company’s totem pole, everyone (yes, even the big kahuna!) can feel completely unmotivated and withdrawn from their jobs.

How we’re aiming to bring employee engagement back

At Greatify, we’re aiming to change that. We believe that with a little help, companies can foster high-performance and positive work environments where everyone thrives at work. Stay tuned for upcoming posts on how together, we can all combat our number one foe: disengagement.

Got a story of disengagement you’d like to share? We’d love to hear from you! Send it to story@greatify.co. Your story, which will remain anonymous, may be the feature of an upcoming post or video!

#EmployeeEngagement