The Good News: Managers Can Better Engage Disengaged Employees
The question of how managers can better engage disengaged employees is difficult to answer without first understanding the root causes of disengagement. The most effective organizations use organizational health and employee engagement survey data to identify the critical few drivers that have the greatest impact on:
When leaders focus on the factors that matter most, they can make meaningful improvements in engagement, performance, and retention.
The Bad News: Managers Are Confused and Employee Engagement Remains Low
People manager assessment data reveals a common leadership dilemma. Many managers — especially those who have not participated in proven new manager training programs — believe they must keep disengaged employees on the team to avoid productivity losses caused by limited bandwidth. Others take the opposite view and want to move on quickly to minimize the cost of underperformance.
The reality is more nuanced.
We have seen situations where removing toxic high performers was the right decision. We have also seen disengaged employees become highly productive, committed, and valued team members when the underlying causes of their disengagement were addressed.
The challenge is that employee disengagement remains widespread.
According to Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report, only 23% of employees worldwide are actively engaged at work. That means most employees are either indifferent, disconnected, or actively disengaged. For managers, this is not simply a morale issue — it is a performance, innovation, customer experience, and retention challenge.
Employee engagement is not driven by perks, slogans, or one-time initiatives. It is driven by leadership behaviors that strengthen commitment, motivation, and connection over time.
Use employee pulse surveys, one-on-one engagement meetings, stay interviews, and candid conversations to uncover barriers to engagement and identify what would make work more meaningful.
Corporate culture assessment research consistently shows that when employees feel genuinely heard, trust increases, commitment strengthens, and discretionary effort follows.
Managers can reignite commitment by helping employees understand how their work contributes to customers, colleagues, organizational success, or a broader mission. Whenever possible, share stories that illustrate the real-world impact of individual and team contributions.
Research published in the Journal of Organizational Behavior found that employees who view their work as meaningful are significantly more likely to be engaged, productive, and committed. When people understand why their work matters, motivation and ownership increase.
High performing cultures create engagement by balancing direction with empowerment. They establish clear goals, roles, responsibilities, and success measures while giving employees appropriate autonomy in how they achieve results.
Clear expectations combined with meaningful autonomy remain among the strongest predictors of employee engagement.
Great managers prioritize employee growth through coaching, stretch assignments, customized skill development opportunities, and meaningful career conversations. They help employees see a future for themselves within the organization.
According to LinkedIn’s Workplace Learning Report, 94% of employees say they would stay longer at an organization that invests in their career development. Growth opportunities signal trust, build capability, and strengthen retention.
Managers with high functioning and high performing teams consistently recognize contributions, celebrate progress, provide support, and demonstrate genuine care for their people. Recognition does not have to be elaborate. Consistent acknowledgment of effort, achievement, and impact can significantly improve motivation and morale.
Employees who feel valued are far more likely to remain committed, contribute discretionary effort, and advocate for their organization.
The Bottom Line
Re-engaging disengaged employees requires more than good intentions. It requires managers who listen, connect work to purpose, clarify expectations, invest in development, and consistently recognize contributions. Organizations that equip managers with these skills are far more likely to create high-performing teams that drive stronger business results, higher retention, and greater employee commitment.
To learn how the most effective managers transform disengaged employees into motivated, high-performing contributors, download 10 Proven Ways Great Managers Turn Disengaged Employees into High Performers and discover the research-backed practices that drive engagement, retention, and business results.
Tristam Brown is an executive business consultant and organizational development expert with more than three decades of experience helping organizations accelerate performance, build high-impact teams, and turn strategy into execution. As CEO of LSA Global, he works with leaders to get and stay aligned™ through research-backed strategy, culture, and talent solutions that produce measurable, business-critical results. See full bio.
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