Top Mistakes that Fast-Track Employee Disengagement

HR managers often talk about employee engagement – attempting to measure it in surveys and encourage it in our workforces. But what is “employee engagement” and why is it so important? In brief, employee engagement refers to the emotional commitment, enthusiasm, and dedication that employees bring to their work and to their organization. Engaged employees feel a strong connection to their employer, supervisor, and team. As a result, they are more productive, loyal, and collaborative.

In contrast, when good performers are unsuccessful at work, it is often due to a failure by the manager to keep the employee engaged. Disengaged employees are less productive, feel disconnected from the company, and may even actively compromise the company’s success. Disengagement generally occurs when employees feel powerless, overwhelmed, and/or discouraged.

You might be surprised that disengagement often has nothing to do with compensation or position. Good performers’ feelings of frustration, lack of appreciation, overwhelm, and/or dissatisfaction are triggered when managers:

o   Create policies that everyone must follow because of one person’s bad actions.

o   Treat everyone the same. Good and poor performers receive the same attention, and there is no mechanism for recognizing special effort. 

o   Tolerate poor performance for too long, dragging all team members down and compromising team success.

o   Shut down self-expression. Procedures are so fixed that employees are unable to bring their own skills and creativity into the work.

o   Overwork their good people. Following the adage – “when you want something done, give it to the busiest person” – results in the better workers being overworked because they take on more of a load than the slothful or poor performers.

o   Don’t make things fun. When there is no time for humor or camaraderie in the workplace, a key component to employee engagement – connection and relationship building is thwarted.

These triggers are all symptoms of a manager’s lack of emotional intelligence (EQ).

Managers who lack the EQ skills of social awareness and relationship management often struggle to build strong connections with their coworkers. Their inability to listen and empathize, combined with a need to assert superiority, leads them to dismiss or minimize others' perspectives and experiences. They make decisions based solely on their personal opinion or biases, which ultimately hinders collaboration and trust within the team.

In one recent client case, a highly valued and well-respected employee left the company due to a manager’s poor leadership. Because, over the years multiple complaints had been raised by other employees about this manager and the organization continued to employ him, the employee believed that raising another similar complaint would not benefit her in any way. In the end, she felt unsupported by both her manager and the company.

Among other behaviors, this manager exhibited the disengagement trifecta; that is, the three things that most often turn off highly motivated and engaged employees:

1.        He believed he was the smartest person in the room. When his employee presented an issue to him, he didn’t gather information before responding. Rather than respecting her as a professional and, therefore, assuming she had already taken some steps to investigate and address the issue, he immediately began to give uninformed advice and direction. If she responded that certain steps had already been taken and/or why the advice might not work, he would offer further advice and direction. The employee learned to sit quietly, allowing him to always have the last word. She took what little was valuable out of the conversation and discarded the rest.

2.        He only surrounded himself with yes-men and yes-women. This manager did not tolerate alternate perspectives. When the employee questioned his approach to an initiative and offered what she believed would be a more effective path based on a decidedly more in-depth understanding of the issue, he would shunt projects away from her. He began to rely heavily on people with less skill and experience to work on projects that were clearly within her scope of responsibilities.

3.        He relied too heavily on what worked before. This manager had a long career with the organization and was generally unwilling to entertain ideas that were different than what had been done in the past. This had the greatest effect on the younger generation of employees who understand that today’s workplace has unique challenges that did not need to be considered in the past. His attitude shut down discussion and creativity, leaving employees feeling diminished and reluctant to make any future suggestions.

This week, think about your own leadership qualities. If you are not currently in a leadership position, consider the actions of your own manager and how they make you feel. Are you fully engaged? If not, what could change to bring you the enthusiasm and inspiration you desire? Are any of those changes in your control?

o   Are you spending enough time listening to your employees (or spouse, or co-worker), or are you jumping straight to problem resolution? Are you assuming that you know more than the individual who is directly dealing with the situation? When someone comes to you with a challenge, ask three qualifying (vs. leading) questions first, before moving to resolution.

o   Are you spending enough time with people who don’t agree with you? In my consulting practice I have found that people tend to hire people who are like themselves. This often leaves a gap on the team for opposing perspectives, thereby encouraging “group think.” This type of situation impedes good decision-making.

I often think of the story of Abraham Lincoln when he was told by one of his aides that someone had disagreed with him. Mr. Lincoln quickly put on his coat and hat and, when asked by the aide where he was going, he responded that he was going to visit that person, because he was aware that the person was often right in his opinions. Can you be like Lincoln and open yourself up to alternative approaches? Do you allow your employees to express themselves? Can you consider what might be good and correct in their approach?

o   Are you open to moving outside of the tried-and-true, to effect change? This doesn’t mean changing just for the sake of change. It means being open to change, if that change might bring better results. If the risks are low and the outcomes are potentially high, can you take that step? Can you respond respectfully if you disagree?

Ready to enhance your managers’ emotional intelligence and create a more engaged workforce? Reach out to julia@hr-eq today to explore how HR-EQ can support your organization’s growth and success.