Poor management impacts every metric for success. Employees who dread work because of unhealthy working conditions, unclear expectations or an unpleasant boss become unhappy employees who ultimately disengage from their work. When that happens, profitability dips, customers sense the negativity and talented employees begin to look for new opportunities.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2023 Report revealed that 23% of employees were engaged at work in 2022—the highest level since 2009. The flip side is that more than half (59%) of employees are quiet quitting, meaning they put in the minimum effort required and feel disconnected from their work.
This report also revealed a new trend: 18% of employees are now loud quitting. These workers are so frustrated with the expectations or culture at their workplace—a disenchantment often derived from broken trust between employee and employer—that their actions actually harm the organization.
There are a number of factors creating this employee dissatisfaction, including record-high stress (44%), but for employers that don’t make an effort to improve their workplace environment or managing styles, they may soon be sent back to the starting line where they’ll have to replace talent. More than half (51%) of workers said they are actively seeking a new job.
According to the poll, however, most disgruntled employees know what needs to change in their workplace, and 85% of those changes were related to culture, pay and benefits, and wellbeing. Employees reported that they wanted management changes like more autonomy, greater respect, clarity around goals and stronger guidance.
The Gallup poll results stress that there are easy productivity gains for employers who are willing to make even small adjustments to their leadership style. In fact, it reported that 70% of team engagement is attributable to the manager.
If your company’s profitability or team morale is suffering, Gallup says there is one clear strategy: “Change the way your people are managed.”
