Poor Employee Engagement:
Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

Employee engagement is a major HR issue. The lack of employee involvement at work and toward their company has a direct impact on organizational performance. The figures speak for themselves: in 2024, in France, the cost of disengagement averaged €14,840 per employee according to the Mozart Consulting firm.

Given this situation, understanding the causes and consequences of poor employee engagement is essential, especially since, according to a survey conducted by ADP Research, in 2025, only 21% of French employees are engaged at work. In this article, Mozzaik takes a closer look at these issues and provides solutions to strengthen your employees’ engagement.

What is “poor engagement” at work?

Poor engagement is a degraded state of employee involvement. But what exactly does it mean and how does it concretely manifest in the workplace? Let’s explain.

Poor employee engagement: definition

The National Association of HR Directors defines engagement as “All of an employee’s actions that go beyond what is required by the employment contract, reinforcing the feeling of contributing to a common project, in line with the company’s values.”

Employee engagement can therefore be defined as employees’ involvement in their work and toward their employer, beyond their legal and contractual obligations.

Conversely, poor employee engagement corresponds to a lack of enthusiasm. It manifests as a form of detachment from work tasks and can even lead to active disengagement, characterized by distrust toward the organization.

The IBET (workplace well-being index) from Mozart Consulting and the eNPS (employee Net Promoter Score) are two indicators used to measure employee engagement. Poor engagement is reflected by an IBET score below 0.8 and an eNPS index under 7.

Concrete signs of poor employee engagement

The lack of employee engagement is evident through various behaviors.

An unengaged employee is more frequently absent and tends to be less loyal to their employer. They do not promote the company to external talent and remain open to other professional opportunities.

When physically present, the disengaged employee carries out tasks without initiative or particular creativity. They avoid responsibility, are not proactive, and communicate little with colleagues and their manager.

What are the consequences of poor employee engagement?

Employee engagement is a strategic HR issue. And for good reason: the lack of employee engagement has several negative impacts on the company:

Decreased productivity

Low employee engagement negatively affects productivity. An employee who is not invested in their work is less creative, innovative, and efficient in performing tasks. As a result, according to Gallup, the least engaged teams are 18% less productive and 23% less profitable than highly engaged ones.

Slowed innovation

The performance decline in disengaged teams can partly be explained by their lower capacity to innovate. An unengaged employee puts in less effort to find innovative solutions to the challenges they face. They also communicate less with colleagues, which undermines collective intelligence and slows problem-solving.

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Decreased customer satisfaction

Poor employee engagement affects customer satisfaction and loyalty. Disengaged employees often provide less attentive and proactive customer service. This may explain why, according to Gallup, clients of the least engaged teams are 10% less loyal than those of the most engaged teams.

Increased workplace accidents

Workplace accidents are also more frequent among disengaged employees. The reasons could include lower attention, poorer knowledge of safety procedures, or poor internal communication. Consequently, according to the American firm, demobilized teams have an incident rate 63% higher than that of the most engaged teams.

Increased absenteeism

Due to job dissatisfaction, deteriorated mental health, and workplace accidents, employees with low engagement levels are also more often absent. According to Gallup, disengaged teams are 78% more absent than their highly invested counterparts.

Higher turnover

A low level of employee engagement also means a higher turnover rate. Disengaged employees are not attached to their employer, making it easier for them to leave their job. Thus, according to Gallup, in sectors with low turnover, teams with low engagement levels experience a staff renewal rate 51% higher than that of more enthusiastic teams.

Employer brand degradation

Low engagement undermines the attractiveness of the employer brand and can lead to recruitment issues. Disengaged employees do not engage in employee advocacy: they do not promote their company to potential recruits. They may even post negative comments about it on social media and review platforms like Glassdoor or Indeed, discouraging potential candidates.

Negative ripple effect

Finally, a disengaged employee can influence their coworkers. Their lack of motivation can affect the work atmosphere and spread to other team members. Combined with poor communication, it hinders collaboration. Human relations can deteriorate, and conflicts may arise, harming the overall social climate.

What Are the Main Causes of Employee Disengagement?

The factors leading to employee disengagement are numerous. Among the frequent causes of declining employee involvement are:

Inadequate management

Managerial practices have a significant impact on workplace engagement. According to Gallup, 70% of team engagement levels are determined by the manager. Authoritarian supervision that fails to grant sufficient autonomy to employees and merely assigns tasks can be a source of demotivation.

An absent manager, however, is no more favorable to employee engagement. Lack of recognition—through personalized feedback and active listening, for example—or unclear goals can demobilize employees. They end up feeling interchangeable and lost.

Faulty work organization

The way work is organized obviously has a decisive influence on employee engagement. An unsuitable workload, lack of flexibility, poor work-life balance, or absence of necessary resources to do one’s job well (time, equipment, information, etc.) can demoralize and disengage employees.

Lack of vision and loss of meaning

Employee engagement can also deteriorate when they do not perceive the purpose of their tasks and missions. Vague goals or a lack of understanding of the organization’s strategy can create a sense of uselessness and lead employees to lose interest in their roles.

This is the case, for example, of a sales team that receives strict monthly directives (such as promoting a specific product) without being informed of the strategic reasons behind these instructions (offer repositioning, product launch, etc.).

Poor internal communication

Internal communication problems are a major cause of poor engagement. When information flows poorly between employees (e.g., due to chaotic email use), they struggle to prioritize tasks, teamwork becomes difficult, interpersonal relationships deteriorate, and disengagement looms.

Dysfunctional top-down communication can also negatively impact employee engagement. The lack of a unified communication channel that allows employees to stay up to date with company news can foster a sense of exclusion and disconnection, leading to decreased involvement.

Lack of career advancement opportunities

Development opportunities are a key factor in workplace engagement. According to a survey by Indeed in 2025, the main reasons employees consider resigning include:

Seeking new challenges (18%),
Lack of recognition (17%),
Lack of career prospects (16%),
Having stayed in the same role too long (15%),
No promotion (13%),
Feeling underutilized in their job (13%).

Without a personalized training plan to help employees develop their skills or a visible internal mobility program to help them plan their career path, employees may feel stuck, bored, and lose their enthusiasm for work.

A toxic or inconsistent corporate culture

Company principles and values can also lead to disengagement. When employees feel misaligned with the organizational philosophy, their sense of belonging and purpose at work declines. An authoritarian corporate culture focused on performance at the expense of employee well-being, diversity and inclusion, or team cohesion can hinder employee engagement.

A positive culture not embodied by top management through strategic decisions and work organization is also a factor in poor engagement. A supposedly "agile" startup that refuses remote work, for instance, could lose team commitment. The disconnect between corporate messaging and reality erodes trust, creates dissatisfaction, and reduces employee investment.

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How to Strengthen Employee Engagement? The Key Role of Internal Communication

Internal communication is one of the main levers to combat employee disengagement and increase their involvement in the company. Here’s how.

1. Align employees with the company’s vision and restore meaning to work

The feeling of contributing to a common project is a driving force of workplace engagement. A transparent, clear, and consistent internal communication strategy fosters this mindset. It can take the form of a weekly newsletter dedicated to the company vision, goals, successes, and collective challenges.

2. Modernize internal communication tools to improve information flow

Information flow is also a key factor in employee engagement. When well-informed, employees feel valued by leadership and can work effectively both independently and as a team. Modern internal communication tools like collaborative intranets facilitate information sharing and access.

A Digital Workplace like Mozzaik, for example, allows you to segment audiences and deliver the right message to the right person at the right time. Available as a mobile app, it provides field workers with an easy way to stay informed and connected to other company sites.

If you want to discover how hundreds of companies have successfully boosted their internal communication, schedule a free demo!

3. Promote a culture of continuous feedback to enhance recognition

Engaged employees are those who feel heard and valued. Implementing regular pulse surveys, an annual engagement barometer, and feedback rituals makes it easier to gather insights from the field.

To enhance employee engagement, these communication actions must be followed up. A monthly mini-survey, for example, can lead to a collective debrief, adoption of relevant measures based on employee input, and a post on the intranet outlining those changes.

4. Highlight successes and individual contributions

Recognition is a motivational lever and a key driver of employee engagement. To fully invest in their work, employees must feel their contributions are genuinely appreciated. To encourage expressions of recognition, implement dedicated tools and rituals.

For instance, you could set aside a few minutes at the start of each weekly meeting to acknowledge each participant’s achievements (landing a major client, exemplary behavior, etc.).

A collaborative communication platform like Mozzaik365 can also help foster recognition rituals, such as displaying employee work anniversaries and encouraging peers to send congratulatory messages via Teams.

5. Train managers in compassionate communication

Managers play a crucial role in talent management and enhancing employee engagement. In daily contact with employees, they must guide, value, and communicate the company culture effectively and empathetically.

To do so, managers themselves need to be well-informed and supported by their superiors. This can be done through in-person meetings and targeted messages sent via your internal communication platform.

To help improve employee engagement, managers should also be trained in positive communication techniques, such as active listening and constructive feedback. You can, for instance, include a "managerial communication" module in the onboarding program for new managers.

Conclusion: Combating Poor Employee Engagement Through Listening and Action

Poor employee engagement is a common HR challenge with serious consequences for companies (turnover, absenteeism, reduced productivity, etc.). Yet, disengagement at work is not inevitable.

Lack of enthusiasm and commitment among employees is a warning sign revealing dysfunctions and sources of dissatisfaction or distress. To improve employee engagement, it’s essential first to identify these disengagement factors.

Listening to teams—through feedback practices such as internal surveys, polls, interviews, etc.—is crucial. It helps uncover the right levers to boost employee engagement (managerial approach, recognition, communication, etc.).

Internal communication is one of the main levers to enhance employee engagement. It forms the foundation of a lasting culture of engagement because it connects members of the organization, aligns them with shared goals and values, and brings meaning to daily work.

FAQ

Poor Employee Engagement: Causes, Consequences, and Solutions

What are the signs that an employee is disengaged?

A disengaged employee may show frequent absences, lack of initiative, decreased productivity, isolation, limited communication, or a critical attitude toward the company. They avoid responsibilities, show little interest in their work, and may actively be looking for another job.

What are the negative effects of low workplace engagement?

Low engagement leads to decreased productivity, slower innovation, reduced customer satisfaction, increased workplace accidents, absenteeism, and turnover, as well as a decline in employer branding and overall workplace climate.

What are the causes of disengagement at work?

Disengagement can stem from poor management, disorganized work structure, lack of recognition or career advancement opportunities, ineffective internal communication, a loss of meaning, or a toxic or inconsistent corporate culture.

What tool can be implemented to strengthen employee engagement?

A company intranet helps build a connection between employees and the organization. A social and collaborative communication platform enhances the employee experience and fosters stronger ties with peers.