How To Boost Waning Employee Engagement

by Crystel Robbins Rynne, Chief Operating Officer at HRLocker

The recent release of Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace Report paints a stark picture. It’s not just another annual snapshot into the minds of workers around the world, but a wake-up call to a global crisis. The majority of workers are struggling, both at work and home, which is directly impacting their engagement levels and leading to a significant drop in productivity.

According to Gallup, less than a quarter of workers (23%) worldwide are fully engaged and thriving at work, with 62% classified as ‘not engaged’ and 15% as actively disengaged. In Ireland, the situation is particularly dire.

Nine in ten are either quietly quitting by psychologically detaching from their work and employer (not engaged) or undermining engaged workers’ accomplishments by loudly quitting (actively disengaged).

The reasons employee engagement is dropping

Globally, employee wellbeing is declining, and the incidence of daily negative emotions remains high. As per the Gallup report, almost half of respondents feel stressed a lot of the time, one in five experience loneliness, 21% get angry, and nearly a quarter feel sad—figures closely reflected in Irish workers. These feelings undoubtedly dampen enthusiasm for their job.

Remote work, a significant shift spurred on by the pandemic, is also playing a crucial role. The CIPD HR Practices in Ireland 2024 report suggests that engagement and organisational culture are key areas impacted by this change—a reality that continues to be widely applicable today. It’s a new challenge that demands new strategies.

The CIPD also highlighted the increase in an ‘always on’ culture enabled by technology as a contributing factor. It hammers home the message, in an earlier report by saying employee engagement is a high priority for a third of all organisations in Ireland, compared to just 22% the year before.

Industry research further foregrounds remote work as a driver of disengagement. A 2024 article in the International Journal of Research in Human Resource Management, for instance, stresses the importance of high staff turnover, reduced in-person interactions, and fewer social activities as reasons why employees are tuning out and disconnecting from their work.

We can’t ignore broader socio-economic factors either. According to Gallup, there’s a strong correlation between the strength of the job market, labour protections, the financial outlook, and emotional health. It’s a complex interplay, but given the current cost-of-living crisis, it’s no wonder worries are transferring into the workplace and impacting people’s capacity to give it 100%.

Why falling employee engagement matters

Low engagement costs workers, businesses, and the global economy. Gallop estimates that 15% of the world’s workers are actively disengaged, resulting in a loss of $8.9 trillion (USD)—that’s 9% of global GDP.

Several crucial paradigms are involved here: Firstly, highly engaged teams result in fewer adverse outcomes. Secondly, engaged workforces drive more favourable outcomes. Thirdly, high engagement levels lead to greater organisational success.

When comparing businesses with high levels of engagement to those performing less well, Gallup reports some eye-opening stats, including:

• Less absenteeism (-78%)
• Lower rates of shrinkage or theft (-26%)
• Fewer accidents and safety incidents (-63%)
• Better customer loyalty (+10%)
• More sales (+17%)
• Better wellbeing (+68%)
• Greater profitability (+23%)

There’s also an impact on employee retention—in Ireland, a third of all workers are, coincidentally, actively seeking a new job. Interestingly, another Gallup study in 2023 found that four in ten (41%) said engagement and culture were the primary reasons for leaving their previous jobs. This is well above the other cited causes, in particular, wellbeing and work-life balance (28%), pay and benefits (16%), and managers and leaders (12%).

Ways to boost employee engagement

Research consistently highlights the importance of employee engagement. In short, happy workers lead to lower turnover rates, exceptional customer service, positive key performance indicators (KPIs), and overall business success.

Now, the critical question arises: How can we actively enhance engagement?

Here are some practical approaches to consider.

Support and engage your managers

As the State of the Global Workplace Report indicates, assuming a leadership role brings various advantages. However, managers also experience a higher prevalence of negative emotions. They’re more susceptible to feelings of stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness compared to non-managers.

The heightened emotional burden increases the likelihood they’re actively seeking alternative employment, which is, as we know, closely related to disengagement. However, managers’ engagement levels are far more crucial; if managers are disengaged, other team members are twice as likely to be disengaged, too. Fortunately, the reverse is also true.

Boosting engagement at management level cascades down, creating a virtuous circle. Effective managers motivate teams, transforming them from disengaged to engaged. However, effective managers require training and support.

The ability to build relationships, foster positivity, and nurture respect isn’t a given. It takes hard work and investment in your people. But the outcomes are worth it. Those who feel trusted and supported by their managers are 3.4 times more engaged.

Put simply, to boost employee engagement, you should prioritise engaging, training, and developing managers as people leaders.

Set clear goals and expectations

Working without clear goals and expectations is the same as attempting to navigate harsh terrain without a map—clarity prevents miscommunication, frustration and burnout. John Maxwell, author of The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, draws from his 30-plus years of leadership to say well-defined expectations create trust.

When workers know what employers expect from them—whether that’s being accountable, completing tasks on time, or achieving a specific output—they feel secure. It also helps them feel more purposeful, which matters more than you might think. Indeed, when examining what makes teams successful, Google’s Project Aristotle found that whether it’s the task at hand or the impact it has, purpose fuels engagement.

In a Business Leadership Today article, Matt Tenney, author of ‘Inspire Greatness: How to motivate employees with a simple, repeatable, scalable, process’, foregrounds the setting of SMART goals, i.e. goals that are specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound to help individual employees hold themselves accountable and feel like they’re part of the bigger organisational picture.

In practice, this means getting specific from the outset. Your job ads, interview conversations, employment contracts, and KPIs must clearly define what you expect from workers. It also means building mechanisms for monitoring progress and giving feedback through performance reviews. Ensuring this is a two-way process means workers feel validated and valued.

Recognition and rewards are an integral part of goals and expectations. Celebrating wins through informal shout-outs, personalised thank yous, and team events are great ways to mark milestones and achievements, for example.

Champion a positive company culture

Many businesses believe a high-pressured, highly competitive culture is the key to success. However, research shows that the reverse is true. Organisations and their employees thrive when fostering a positive culture that values compassion, collaboration, and support.

Based on its own and wider research findings, Harvard Business Review outlines four essential principles for nurturing a positive company culture:

1. Foster social connections
2. Show empathy
3. Go out of your way to help
4. Encourage your people to talk to you – especially about their problems.

These elements are all people-centric, underpinned by a wellbeing mindset. This ethos foregrounds relationships and is built around the idea that our interactions with others act as both a buffer against those negative emotions—stress, sadness, anger, and loneliness—and enhance our abilities and creativity.

Prioritising a positive company is more than just an exercise in people management—it’s a strategic business move. In addition to boosting engagement, it makes recruiting and retaining top-level talent much easier.

As the popularity of workplace review sites and awards has grown over the previous few years, we see more and more that company culture acts like a magnet. It can repel or attract workers depending on whether it’s positive or negative.

The building blocks of a positive company culture start small. According to Forbes, organisations must actively strive to build genuine connections within teams. In terms of practical steps, Harvard Business Review recommends encouraging:

• caring for, being interested in, and having a sense of responsibility for colleagues as friends;
• providing support for one another, including kindness and compassion when someone is struggling;
• avoiding blame and forgiving mistakes;
• inspiring each other at work;
• emphasising meaningfulness and
• treating each other with respect, gratitude, trust, and integrity.

Engaging remote workers may be trickier, but it’s as vital. Still, implementing the elements above with remote, hybrid, and office-based workers is feasible, so it mustn’t be overlooked.

Final thoughts

In Ireland, just like the rest of the world, the need to improve employee engagement has never been more pressing.

Remote work challenges, the socio-economic climate, and organisational changes demand a proactive approach.

By addressing the factors driving disengagement and prioritising the role of leaders, wellbeing, and relationships, you can champion a culture where employees feel valued, supported, and motivated.

Ultimately, investing in employee engagement isn’t just the right thing to do—it’s crucial for the success of workers, businesses, and the global economy as a whole.

About the author

Crystel Robbins Rynne has worked with HRLocker since its inception. As COO, she is responsible for maintaining and driving operational results within the company. She is part of the executive management team and is also an Employee Experience advocate and host of the popular HRLocker Podcast.