What Can Cause Employee Disengagement?

Of all the risks a business faces day to day, employees becoming disengaged is perhaps one of the greatest. When staff lose interest, there's greater risk of leaving, poor work ethic and burnout.

Whether the company is based in life sciences or financial planning, it's important for employers to focus on what they can do to prevent disengagement - and the negative side effects this can have.

So, what actually causes employee disengagement?

1) Living in the present and working in the past

According to Forbes contributor Jacob Morgan, the greatest cause of disengagement stems from the fact that businesses still treat workers as expendable "cogs" in the business machine.

"Many companies still operate as though employees are expendable, assume that managers are powerful leaders who should control all the information and remain stoic, and that there needs to be a bureaucratic 'pecking order' to how things get done," he explained.

He went on to state that organisations should focus on closing this gap, giving employees more flexibility when it comes to what they do and when they do it.

2) The job wasn't as expected

There's no doubt that a job will differ somewhat from what was listed in a job description, but a significant disconnect could play a substantial role in disengagement. For example, if employees find they're reporting to a different boss, or they might not be able to move up as fast as they thought.

The Centre for Association Leadership explained that the best way to avoid this issue is an early preview. By giving staff a snapshot of what working at the job will be like, it should be easier for them to ease into the role - and know what they've entered into.

Dealing with disengagement can be difficult for businesses, and this highlights the importance of taking on expert recruitment advice, to ensure that the right staff are taken onboard from the beginning.