As the overall economy continues to improve, the topic of employee engagement and talent wars keeps heating up.  Time and time again, research has indicated that companies with a highly engaged workforce have higher profitability and greater customer satisfaction, two things every company wants more of.

Why are disengaged employees a problem?  In a Forbes article, they quote a Gallup report that estimates that actively disengaged employees cost US businesses between $450 billion to $550 billion per year in lost productivity.  How can that number be so high?  Overall, the findings indicate that 70% of American workers are not engaged.

How did we get to this point?  Here are a few issues tied to disengaged employees for consideration:

• They complain and drag down moral.
• They gossip and keep the animosity fires burning.
• They make excuses and never take responsibility for their actions.
• They’re always saying “It’s not my job” and never help others or go beyond their defined duties.
• They are more likely to lie and make up stories to protect themselves.
• They are less willing to work in teams.  They usually want to work alone…
• They typically act like they know everything and aren’t interested in learning anything new.
• They don’t show any initiative and just stand around waiting to be told what to do next.
• They’re irresponsible and often miss deadlines, are late for work, and break their promises.
• The quality of their work becomes sub-par requiring re-work or causing any number of operational problems or customer satisfaction issues.

The Forbes article ends with a quote from Gallup CEO Jim Clifton:  “…The single biggest decision you make in your job – bigger than all of the rest – is who you name manager.  When you name the wrong person manager, nothing fixes that bad decision.  Not compensation, not benefits – nothing.“