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Employee disengagement: is there evidence of a growing problem?

Employee disengagement: is there evidence of a growing problem? Purpose – The article discusses employee disengagement, a phenomenon where employees are at work but are minimizing their work contribution. Design/methodology/approach – Examples of disengagement are discussed as well as possible causes. This is a call for further research in order to examine whether employee disengagement is rampant in our organizations, and on the increase while being largely ignored by managers, or whether it is a myth and should be of little concern to anyone. Findings – The phenomenon of employee disengagement appears to be correlated with conditions where there is a lack of psychological identification and psychological meaningfulness. Disengagement also appears to be maximized under conditions of poor leadership and when levels of trust between managers and subordinates are low. Evidence suggests that there are large discrepancies in the methods and the scales used to measure employee engagement and disengagement. Practical implications – There is much conflicting and anecdotal evidence that employee disengagement is increasing. Disengagement may result from numerous causes and conditions. Once the catalysts for disengagement are understood, managers can be better equipped to deal with falling employee commitment and energy levels, thus gaining greater traction on the global business landscape. Originality/value – This paper argues that the phenomenon of employee disengagement is increasing but that the methods for its identification are inadequate. Finally, the authors argue that the majority of managers seem unwilling or unable to halt the rising tide of employee disengagement. http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Handbook of Business Strategy Emerald Publishing

Employee disengagement: is there evidence of a growing problem?

Richard Pech; Bret Slade
Handbook of Business Strategy , Volume 7 (1): 5 – Jan 1, 2006
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Publisher
Emerald Publishing
Copyright
Copyright © 2006 Emerald Group Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.
ISSN
1077-5730
DOI
10.1108/10775730610618585
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

Purpose – The article discusses employee disengagement, a phenomenon where employees are at work but are minimizing their work contribution. Design/methodology/approach – Examples of disengagement are discussed as well as possible causes. This is a call for further research in order to examine whether employee disengagement is rampant in our organizations, and on the increase while being largely ignored by managers, or whether it is a myth and should be of little concern to anyone. Findings – The phenomenon of employee disengagement appears to be correlated with conditions where there is a lack of psychological identification and psychological meaningfulness. Disengagement also appears to be maximized under conditions of poor leadership and when levels of trust between managers and subordinates are low. Evidence suggests that there are large discrepancies in the methods and the scales used to measure employee engagement and disengagement. Practical implications – There is much conflicting and anecdotal evidence that employee disengagement is increasing. Disengagement may result from numerous causes and conditions. Once the catalysts for disengagement are understood, managers can be better equipped to deal with falling employee commitment and energy levels, thus gaining greater traction on the global business landscape. Originality/value – This paper argues that the phenomenon of employee disengagement is increasing but that the methods for its identification are inadequate. Finally, the authors argue that the majority of managers seem unwilling or unable to halt the rising tide of employee disengagement.

Journal

Handbook of Business Strategy – Emerald Publishing

Published: Jan 1, 2006

Keywords: Employee behaviour; Trust; Motivation (psychology)

References

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