How Much Can Disengaged Employees Cost Your Business? [Infographic]

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Across all industries and sectors, disengaged employees can negatively affect the workplace causing an office to become toxic, companies to lose their competitive edge, or even startups to fail. These employees are essentially sleepwalking through their day by putting in time but not energy or passion.

Unfortunately, more than 50 percent of all U.S. workers are disengaged at work. Fortunately, a company’s culture can help engage team members and improve productivity.

Key Takeaways

• Disengaged employees cost companies $450-$500 billion per year.

• Only 30% of U.S. employees are engaged and inspired at work.

• Camaraderie is the top reason employees say they go the extra mile at work.

What Disengaged Employees Cost Your Business

Not only can disengaged employees create a negative work environment but they can also cause a company to lose money. According to a Gallup poll, actively disengaged employees cause U.S. companies between $450 – $550 billion in lost productivity per year.

That’s before even considering the economic impact of needing to hire new employees for your business when the disengaged workers find a better gig.

Employers need to recognize the benefits of investing in employee engagement. Increasing a company’s engagement by just 10% can increase profits by $2,400 per employee per year.

What Engaged Employees Adds to Your Business

Companies with highly engaged employees consistently outperform their competitors because their staff is more likely to have above-average productivity. Highly engaged employees are also 87% less likely to leave an organization than their counterparts, preventing/saving the costs involved in finding replacements.

While culture can’t always be easily defined, it develops over time from the traits of the people hired. Most CEOs believe culture improves the value of their company as well as influences productivity, creativity, profitability, and the growth of the firm.

Camaraderie between peers is the number one reason employees go the extra mile and is an important aspect of a company’s culture.

The Cost of Disengaged Employees Infographic

Check out this great infographic by our friends at Villanova University which demonstrates how disengaged employees can be the downfall of any new startup or well-established business, and how business owners who invest in employee engagement practices will have happier, more successful, and more productive staff.

Disengaged Employees FAQ

1. How much do U.S. employers lose annually due to disengaged employees?

   U.S. employers lose $450-$500 billion annually due to disengaged employees.

This is because disengaged employees are less productive, which causes the company to miss out on revenue.

In addition, these employees are more likely to leave the company, which costs the organization about one-third of the employee’s annual salary.

This includes the sense of camaraderie that employees say is their number one motivator for going above and beyond at work.

Several employee surveys have indicated that having good collaboration and communication tools would greatly improve their productivity and overall satisfaction.

In addition, 39% of surveyed employees say that their organization doesn’t collaborate enough, which often stems from leaders’ priorities.

Author

Paul Slezak

With over two decades of experience in the recruitment and human capital industry, Paul Slezak has established himself as a transformative force in the realm of leadership and career coaching, group facilitation, and talent acquisition. His unique perspective, drawn from his early career as a leader in global recruitment firms and his entrepreneurial success with his own start-up, has enabled him to make a significant impact on leaders, teams, and organizations across the world. Paul's passion for helping others achieve success and high performance is evident in his commitment to transforming leaders and their teams at local, national, and international levels. He specializes in promoting the importance of human-centered intelligence, focusing on soft skills such as authenticity, transparency, and trust to complement business-centered acumen and drive better workplace outcomes. As an impartial facilitator, Paul brings his expertise to team offsites and strategy days, ensuring alignment on goals, values, and culture while keeping participants on task. His engaging and energetic presence, coupled with his unique "entertraining" and "edutaining" delivery style, enables him to connect with audiences both large and intimate, sharing personal and professional anecdotes that inspire and energize.