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CHAPTER 3 EMPLOYEE DISENGAGEMENT EPIDEMIC

The majority of workers are presently disengaged at work. They feel they're not making meaningful progress and not cognitively or emotionally connecting to their work or workplace. This results in an unprecedented loss of productivity as well as a general malaise. This contagion takes a physical and mental toll on workers that can lead to burnout, depression, and other debilitating conditions.

I heard a story about an employee who scripted his own piece of software. The bizarre thing is that its sole function was to make it appear to onlookers as if he were toiling away on his computer, when in fact he was busy exchanging hot tamale recipes (or something equally absurd). By no means is he alone–much of the working world would rather do something, almost anything else for that matter, other than their jobs.

In work that is routine and low discretion, gleaning a profound sense of purpose is rare. But nearly half of Americans now work in non‐routine, cognitively demanding jobs. The opportunity to find meaning in work has never been more ripe.

And for those who have been coasting along in aimless work, the mere notion that they might find fulfilment can lead to an existential crisis. They must face the stark reality that their jobs, as anthropologist David Graeber puts it, could be bullshit.

A bullshit job is one in which the employee can honestly admit their job is pointless. Or in other words, if the job were to disappear it wouldn't make a difference. Graeber makes the case that for many of these kinds of jobs, should they vanish, the world would become an even better place. Clerical workers, administrators, PR consultants, telemarketers, and middle managers are frequently cited roles.

Indeed, some may perform a pointless job but still find it provides a sense of meaning. At its most rudimentary, they may extract purpose in being able to provide for themselves and their family. And if they're given the freedom to act responsibly, they might even transform their job so it has utility. Still others might actually possess meaningful work but be in the odd frame of mind where they just don't feel it.

A MONDAY THROUGH FRIDAY SORT OF DYING

At the time of writing, Gallup reports that a whopping 85% of the world's 1 billion full‐time employees are not engaged in their work. And this figure has been roughly the same since Gallup began monitoring engagement in the workplace at the turn of this century. Employee disengagement is a global epidemic.

When more than 8 out of every 10 workers endure, or possibly even suffer, a Monday through Friday sort of dying, something has to give. In the USA particularly, employee disengagement is appalling. In a 2018 Gallup report, only 34% of employees said they were engaged in their jobs. The majority, then, are disengaged, which means they are not cognitively and emotionally connected to their work or workplace. Instead of just scripting dodgy software to mask their work from time to time, they repeatedly arrive at work aiming to do the least amount they can get away with. There's nothing distinctively unusual about not working at work.

Still worse are the 13% of Americans who are ‘actively disengaged’. This means that employees are pent‐up inside and acting out on their resentment. They are often bitter because they feel their needs are being ignored. Deemed to be toxic, they undermine the work of their engaged colleagues. Their venom is contagious and can quickly spread throughout their team, the company floor, and even the entire organisation.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg. In one French study, a CEO said that 19% of his workers were so disengaged that they were planning to sabotage the organisation–they disliked it that much (they didn't act for fear of losing their jobs).

Indeed, emotional states play a part in every facet of our working lives–from what we contribute through to how we might feel a sense of belonging. The emotions of one worker can emanate outwards in all directions, affecting everything and everyone in their path. The side effects of feeling disengaged include apathy, boredom, lack of purpose, and incompetence. You bet this can result in a serious case of the Mondays.

Put into a financial context, the estimated savings from firing (or avoiding the hiring of a toxic employee) is $12,489. This figure does not include other potential costs such as litigation and associated burdens like time away in court, headhunter fees, and lower employee morale. And disengaged workers (often found to have traces of toxicity) cost the American economy alone $350 billion per year in lost productivity. This works out to $1000 for every US citizen. Worldwide, unmotivated workers have spurred decades of steady decline in productivity measured as global GDP per capita.

The effects of disengaged workers don't stop at shitty company performance, productivity, or profit.

Engaged workers are less likely to have accidents, take sick days, make mistakes, behave badly with co‐workers and family, burnout, or suffer from depression than their disengaged counterparts. Oh yes, and engaged workers often enjoy their work for its own reward too.

The malaise of the modern worker will not be cured in one fell swoop. It will happen through itsy bitsy nudges in behaviour. Take email for starters. On average, 77% of workers surveyed in the UK claim that a productive day is ‘clearing their email’ and 40% say that four or more hours of ‘doing email’ is a good day's work.

The problem does not rest in the technology itself, but in the beliefs about its benefits. The application of electronic mail can be a lazy way out–crippling work instead of advancing it. Boosting team performance and institutionalising healthy behaviour starts with the individual. Changing a nasty email habit, or ceasing to trash‐talk colleagues behind their back for that matter, means reshaping both mindsets and habits. And this then seeps into collective behaviour and organisational culture.

FEELING PROGRESS

The biggest stoke in work is whether you believe you're making headway in purposeful work. ‘Of all the events that engage people at work, the single most important–by far–is simply making progress in meaningful work,’ explains Harvard business professor, Teresa Amabile. Known as the progress principle, it's this type of inner drive that propels shapers to do their best work.

High on the list of making progress in work is gaining a sense of appreciation to keep you motivated. We all want validation, and the best way to get it is by gaining positive (and constructive) feedback from others. When co‐workers and collaborators recognise and appreciate your contribution, it can help keep your work mojo firing. We've gotten accustomed to workplace recognition in the form of better salaries, bigger offices, and badass job titles, when really it's this sense of being appreciated that often makes all the difference.

Finding and sustaining meaning in work is a deeply personal affair that starts with you. Shapers know this and continually challenge themselves to sense and respond to what they need to connect to their purpose.

Perhaps the overlooked reason for rampant disengagement at work is simply to do with narrative fallacies. For many folks, those stories that once conjured up anxiety and dread might soon be seen as existential openings. It's only when we all rethink work, and our place in it, that we'll arrive at the root of the problem.

It's through creative expression, guidance, support, experimentation, and a myriad of other avenues that we pursue the work that matters. And along the way—we help ourselves and others to rise up.