The State of the Workplace: Disengaged and Stressed?

It’s difficult to keep up with workplace trends, especially as they’ve rapidly evolved during these past few years. New terms that often offer sweeping generalizations about the changing workforce (ie: “The Great Resignation” and “Quiet Quitting”) are coined almost weekly. And while LinkedIn may have named “The Great Reshuffle,” there are some larger underlying themes in the workforce that are responsible for creating these trendy catchphrases.

Engagement is a big piece to both The Great Resignation and the Quiet Quitting puzzle. Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace — an annual report which represents the collective voice of the global employee — found that one-third of workers reported feeling engaged on the job. Pre-pandemic, employee engagement and wellbeing were rising globally for almost a decade. Today, they’re stagnant.

The Gallup survey revealed that 60 percent of respondents reported feeling emotionally detached at work. And what’s worse: 19 percent of survey respondents reported being miserable.

Gallup defines engagement as the “psychological commitment to one’s work, team, and organization.” The report also describes an engaged employee as being “mentally in the zone, ready for action.”

What’s contributing to this discontent? Pandemic burnout, lack of respect in the workplace, and other factors are causing workers to disengage.

So call it Quiet Quitting or a great reimagining of the workforce, but no matter how you define it, the stats speak for themselves: employee engagement is falling and that’s less than ideal for business.

Gallup’s report cited that “employees who are not engaged or who are actively disengaged cost the world $7.8 trillion in lost productivity.” But it’s not all bad news.

It went on to read that although “the pulse of the global workplace is low, it’s still beating.” The findings reveal a difficult 2021 but they encourage employers to step up and ask how they can create a more prosperous workplace for their team members to thrive in.

Employers who put their employees first will find that their teams are happier, more engaged, and more productive.

In other words, employee wellbeing is imperative for long-term business growth and success.