The Cost of Disengagement
Workplace disengagement, once it is connected to low productivity, causes real costs to the companies. The question we should be asking is: “how much is this kind of actively not engaged employee costing the company?”. As we are all aware, there are two sides in each employment relationship: the employer and the employee. Both are, as in any other contract, subject to duties and obligations.
This contractual relation has the following features: the work performance, done by the employee, and the payment of the remuneration, done by the employer. The employment relationship — as a relation with two obligations that feed from one another (work and remuneration) — should be fair and balanced for both parties. So far, nothing new. Ideally, the employees will be happy, feel integrated and heard. They will also feel absolutely in line with the cultural standard of the company, regarding values and attitudes. The employers that are team players view the company almost as their own; they present solutions, they do not wait to be told what to do and always want to do more and better. The thing is… this is not always the case.
In the previous article (Disengagement at the workplace: shall we do the math?), we saw that the employer relation is extraordinarily unbalanced if there are actively not engaged people; unhappy and unmotivated; without energy or passion; sabotaging tasks and colleagues and producing very little. In this scenario an employment relation silently deteriorates. Why silently? Because if, on one hand, the actively not engaged employees are really good at excusing their bad performance, blaming colleagues, hierarchy and even the national economy, on the other hand, their employers are, most times, negligent in following up their tasks and are truly absent regarding recognition and work incentives.
Workplace disengagement (the lack of emotional bond between the employees and their company) is not just about a feeling of sacrifice and obligation from the employee towards the employer. Workplace disengagement also means, once it is connected to a low productivity, real costs to the companies.
“An actively disengaged employee is costing your company $3,400 for each $10,000 paid salaries.”
The question we should be asking is: “how much is this kind of actively not engaged employee costing the company?”. How much do these unproductive and unfruitful performances cost? According to Gallup, an actively disengaged employee is costing your company $3,400 for each $10,000 paid salaries. This means that the 34% of the annual salary of a demotivated person is pure waste, there is no return of investment (which is what a salary represents in the reciprocity of the relationship). Exemplifying it: in the company ABC, Manuel is a demotivated, unhappy and unproductive employee. Assuming that his salary is €12,000, 4,080€ are waste. If Manuel works in a company with more than 49 people, 14% are actively not engaged (according with Gallup, these are the percentages for Portugal: 16% of engaged employees — the true team players, 70% not engaged — for them it doesn’t really matter, 14% actively disengaged — saboteur employees), which means the company ABC, annually, risks losing €28,560. Surprised?
Well, know that this wasted money is just the consequence of not doing something and let destiny run your business.
This article was published by HR Magazine Portugal: https://hrportugal.sapo.pt/o-custo-da-desmotivacao/
