— April 11th, 2023
Employee disengagement isn't just an HR buzzword—it's a business crisis. Recent Gallup research shows engagement dropped from 23% to 21% in 2024, costing the global economy an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity.
The impact? Lower productivity, higher turnover, and damaged company culture. But here's the good news: disengagement isn't inevitable. With the right communication strategy and tools like Poppulo's multichannel platform—which delivers personalized, measurable communications across email, mobile apps, and digital signage—you can turn things around.
Key Takeaways:
- Employee disengagement is a silent but costly problem—low morale, high turnover, and poor performance.
- Key causes include lack of feedback, weak communication, and disconnect from company goals.
- A structured, feedback-driven strategy helps: more recognition, better alignment, and regular measurement.
- Technology matters—Poppulo’s platform offers real-time feedback, engagement dashboards, and digital signage.
- Poppulo's AI-powered platform helps you measure engagement in real-time, personalize communications across email, mobile, and digital signage, and prove the ROI of your employee engagement efforts.
Why Employee Engagement Matters
Employee disengagement is a real issue that can hurt your business in so many ways— and the bad news from recent Gallup research is that employee engagement continues to decline.
According to Gallup, 21% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, while 62% are “not engaged”—quiet quitters who are psychologically unattached—and 17% are “actively disengaged”, meaning they are resentful, checked out, or potentially undermining organizational goals.
Employee disengagement can have several adverse effects on your business, ranging from decreased productivity and less team collaboration to more absenteeism and high turnover, and ultimately impacting the bottom line. Let’s dive into how employee disengagement manifests, and what the true cost is for companies.
Employee engagement isn't just a feel-good metric—it's a critical business driver that directly impacts your organization's success.
Impact on Business Performance
Engaged employees tend to deliver better work, faster. They’re more productive, more consistent, and less likely to take unnecessary time off. Teams with high engagement usually hit goals more reliably, provide better customer experiences, and drive stronger financial results. Disengagement, on the other hand, leads to missed deadlines, lower quality work, and higher turnover costs..
Connection to Organizational Culture
Employee engagement and company culture are deeply interconnected. When employees feel valued, heard, and connected to organizational goals, they become active contributors to a positive culture. They collaborate better, support their teammates, and bring energy to their work.
But when disengagement spreads, it becomes toxic. Employees who don't feel valued create a ripple effect that weakens company culture. Eventually, even engaged employees feel the impact—and it doesn't stop at your walls. Frustrated employees bring their cynicism to customer interactions, leading to more complaints and damaged brand reputation. Your customer experience is only as strong as your employee experience.
The True Cost of Disengaged Employees
The Gallup study shows that when employees are engaged, companies experience greater productivity, lower absenteeism, and employees bringing the best version of themselves every day.
Disengaged employees, on the other hand, cost a business significantly. Gallup found that disengagement cost the world economies $7.8 trillion in lost productivity and that the blanket cost of disengaged employees in the US is $450 to $500 billion annually, which translates to $3,400 for every $10,000 in salary.
And these statistics are only counting actively disengaged employees—they don’t factor in the majority of the workforce who simply fall under the not engaged category.
Let’s dive deeper into the top effects of employee disengagement:
Declining Productivity
Disengaged employees contribute to a significant loss of productivity for your company. If employees aren’t engaged, they underperform and miss deadlines, resulting in poor sales and time usage.
These employees are also more likely to be absent from the workplace than engaged employees. The research shows that the most profitable companies have 50% more engaged employees than less profitable ones.
Overall, companies with high numbers of disengaged employees experience:
- 15% lower profitability
- 37% higher absenteeism
- 18% lower productivity
Higher Turnover
Businesses with higher levels of disengagement also have to contend with higher turnover rates. Actively disengaged employees often plan an exit route should a new opportunity arise.
Gallup estimates that engaged teams experience 18% to 43% higher turnover rates than engaged business units.
When disengaged employees leave, they cost your company productivity and the extra cost of replacing them. Turnover costs can amount to 33% of an employee’s annual salary.
What’s more, a high turnover rate paints a bad picture of your organization’s culture. In turn, you experience more difficulties in attracting and retaining top talent.
Damaged Culture
When employee disengagement is rampant, it becomes a threat to your company culture. Employee disengagement is often the result of employees not feeling valued or listened to, so failing to take action against these issues only exacerbates disengagement and weakens company culture. All employees—even the engaged ones—will feel the impact of poor culture, and eventually, it’ll affect your bottom line.
Poor Customer Experience
The effects of employee disengagement don’t manifest internally only. They also seep outside the confines of your organization. More specifically, disengaged employees are a threat to the customer experience.
It’s common for customer complaints to rise when dealing with disengaged employees. Why? Because disengaged employees are frustrated and demonstrate these frustrations during customer interactions. For example, they might shout at customers, fail to assist, or let their cynicism and negativity toward your brand show.
Understanding the Drivers of Disengagement
Employee disengagement doesn’t happen in a vacuum. To fix disengagement, you need to understand what causes it.
Lack of Feedback and Recognition
The biggest cause of disengagement is employees not having clarity on what's expected of them. When employees don't know how they're performing or whether their work matters, they disengage fast.
Poor Communication
Communication breakdowns create confusion, frustration, and disconnection. Employees who don't receive timely, relevant information feel left out and undervalued.
Misalignment with Company Goals
When employees can't see how their work connects to broader organizational objectives, their sense of purpose disappears. They show up, do the tasks, and leave—but they're not truly invested.
Reducing Employee Disengagement: A Practical Framework (revised)Engagement is not a characteristic of employees, but rather an experience created by organizations, managers, and team members. Here's how to create that experience:
Here’s a five-step, actionable framework to reverse disengagement and foster strong employee engagement:
Step 1: Build a Feedback-Driven Culture
- Encourage regular check-ins (one-on-ones, surveys, pulse polls).
- Train managers to give constructive, timely feedback.
- Empower employees to voice ideas, concerns, and feedback.
Step 2: Improve Communication Channels
- Map out all existing internal channels (email, app, signage, etc.) and identify gaps.
- Target communications based on employee segments, roles, and preferences.
- Use clear, transparent messaging—especially around change and goals.
Check out this blog: How to Get Your Internal Communication Channel Mix Right
Step 3: Recognize and Reward Contributions
- Publicly acknowledge good work, small wins, and teamwork.
- Design recognition programs that are meaningful to your culture.
- Let peers contribute to recognition—not just top-down.
Step 4: Align Roles with Skills and Goals
- Regularly revisit role descriptions and expectations.
- Help employees connect their work to larger company goals.
- Create development paths that match skills + company strategy.
Step 5: Measure Engagement and Adjust Strategies
- Track engagement metrics (surveys, feedback, open rates, etc.).
- Review engagement data regularly and act on insights.
- Adjust communication, recognition, and feedback practices based on what the data shows.
Role of Technology in Enhancing Engagement
Technology isn't the solution—but it's a powerful enabler. To execute the framework above effectively, you need the right tools. Here’s how Poppulo’s platform supports each step:
Real-time Feedback with Poppulo Employee Communications
Poppulo’s Intelligent Employee Communications Platform lets you deliver surveys, polls, and feedback tools across email, mobile app, Microsoft Teams, and more — all from one place. By gathering feedback in real time, you can promptly understand sentiment, act on concerns, and help bridge the communication gap that often drives employee disengagement.
Engagement Metrics & Dashboards
Poppulo’s analytics feature powerful engagement reports to measure behaviors like open rate, click rate, most-read topics, and time spent reading. These insights help you understand what resonates and what doesn’t — giving you data to refine your communication strategy.
Boost Adoption with Poppulo Digital Signage
Poppulo’s Workplace Digital Signage solution lets you share dynamic, relevant messages on screens across the workplace. You can display recognition, company goals, news updates, or even real-time feedback results so that engagement isn’t just digital—it’s physical and visible.
Communication Ties it All Together
Looking at the strategies for boosting engagement, you’ll realize that most rely on personalized, effective communication. To help you evaluate your current communications strategy and understand the reach and impact of your existing communications channels, we’ve put together this channels audit template.
Interested in talking to a Poppulo representative about how we can help drive engagement at your organization through more effective comms? Contact us today!
Conclusion
Employee disengagement isn’t just an HR problem—it’s a business risk. Left unchecked, it drains productivity, damages culture, and raises turnover. But with a structured feedback-driven approach and targeted communication, you can rebuild engagement and alignment. Measuring progress matters, and that’s where technology plays a critical role. Ready to transform your employee engagement strategy? Poppulo's multichannel platform gives you everything you need to reach and engage every employee efficiently and effectively. Contact Poppulo today to see how AI-powered communications and real-time analytics can help you build a more engaged workforce.
FAQ
What is employee disengagement?
Employee disengagement refers to a state where employees feel emotionally and mentally distant from their work, leading to lower motivation, poor performance, or detachment.
How does disengagement affect business performance?
Disengagement hits your bottom line hard. It leads to 15% lower profitability, 37% higher absenteeism, 18% lower productivity, and significantly higher turnover. It also damages company culture and creates poor customer experiences, compounding the negative impact.
How can feedback reduce disengagement?
Regular, two-way feedback creates clarity and connection. When employees know what's expected and how they're performing, frustration drops. When they have a voice and see their input matters, engagement rises. Feedback transforms employees from passive workers to active contributors.
What are the best practices to improve engagement?
Focus on five key areas: build a feedback-driven culture, improve communication channels, recognize contributions regularly, align roles with skills and goals, and measure engagement continuously. The most successful organizations use technology to personalize communications and track what's working in real-time.
How can Poppulo products support employee engagement?
Poppulo provides a comprehensive multichannel platform that delivers personalized communications across email, mobile apps, digital signage, SharePoint, and Teams. With AI-powered insights, real-time analytics, and advanced segmentation, you can target the right messages to the right employees and measure impact—all from one centralized platform.