Sales slumps can result from an industry decline, shifts in customer preferences, marketing missteps or the emergence of a strong competitor. They can also be a sign of an unmotivated sales team.
Disengagement happens. It’s telling that the low numbers from Gallup’s annual measurement of workplace engagement seemingly no longer alarm the business community. “In 2023, employees in the U.S. continued to feel more detached from their employers, with less clear expectations, lower levels of satisfaction with their organization, and less connection to its mission or purpose, than they did four years ago. They are also less likely to feel someone at work cares about them as a person,” the latest report on workplace engagement from Gallup states.
For the full year of 2023, 33% of full- and part-time employees were engaged in their work and workplace. That’s down from a peak of 40% of U.S. workers reporting they were engaged in June 2020. (Gallup began reporting U.S. employee engagement in 2000.)
Harvard Business Review asked its readers and Harvard Business School executive education program participants what leads to disengagement and how can managers help themselves and their teams get reenergized. Its analysis of responses resulted in a four-step process for reigniting enthusiasm for work it tags with the acronym DEAR for detachment, empathy, action and refraiming.
Detachment
Renewing interest in work, whether for yourself or your team members, can only occur after one understands the reasons disengagement is occurring in the first place. At the end of the workday, reflect on what went well and felt meaningful and then make a deliberate effort to disconnect from work.
Authors Robin Abrahams and Boris Groysberg recommend everything from meditation, to exercise, to thinking of yourself in the third person for workers who are disengaged. Surprisingly, doing less may be the first step to doing more. One respondent reported that establishing clear boundaries between his work and his personal life helped him regain energy for work.
Empathy
It may go without saying that the threatening “third prize is you’re fired” approach used by Alec Baldwin’s character in “Glengarry Glen Ross” isn’t effective. Empathetic connections was a common theme from those who shared tales of regaining enthusiasm for work. Abrahams and Groysberg stress the importance of treating people like people and practicing self-care. Studies have shown a connection between strong performance and having a best friend at work.
Empathy requires curiosity about others. Seeking new perspectives builds workplace relationships and increases everyone’s engagement. Helping others at work — particularly by taking on tasks outside of one’s job description — is one of the best ways to make work more meaningful.
Action
Small achievements can have big impacts. Rather than having poor-performing workers address the most important (and possibly imposing) tasks, managers may opt to have them focus on some to-do list items that are easier to complete. It may even make sense to reward accomplishments that are not directly related to work — volunteer work and side hustles — to instill a sense of accomplishment.
Gamifying work tasks is a proven means of reigniting workplace engagement. And learning new skills through online learning lead to new responsibilities that make work more interesting.
Reframing
Assess what roles one plays at work outside of their job title. Are you a teacher? A strategist? A logistics person? Helping employees recognize the more meaningful and rewarding elements of their jobs increases engagement. This includes mundane tasks. Instead of the how and what of a task, shifting the focus to the reason for doing it — the larger goal — helps workers power through.
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