As a business owner or leader, you’ve likely experienced that moment when a once-dependable team member begins to drift - their spark has gone, their performance is slipping, their interactions are strained. It’s frustrating, worrying, and unfortunately, not uncommon.

Disengagement affects every industry. We have seen similar patterns across clients in all sectors including NDIS assistance, hospitality, building, warehousing, retail, allied health, finance – you name it, we’ve seen it!  Engagement is dynamic - it ebbs and flows. Sometimes it’s a temporary dip; other times it signals deeper issues that need your attention.

As someone who has survived the melodrama of a sporting club committee, I learned early that no matter how hard you try to do the right thing, you can’t please everyone at the same time. The same goes for leadership in business. Decisions made in the best interest of the company or majority will always leave someone unhappy - but that doesn’t mean you stop leading.

The signs of disengagement

Disengagement isn’t always loud or obvious. It can look like:

• Declining performance and productivity
  
  
• More frequent sick days or late starts
  
  
• “Presenteeism” - being physically present but mentally checked out
  
  
• Passive-aggressive or toxic behaviour toward colleagues or managers
  
  
• A general drop in team morale

And it doesn’t just affect the person disengaging. Left unmanaged, it drags down your key performers and risks your culture turning sour.

In fact, Australian data from Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace report shows:

• Only 23% of Australian employees feel engaged
  
  
• Over 65% feel disconnected from their workplace
  
  
• And insufficient employee engagement  is estimated to cost the Australian economy over $220 billion a year – that’s approximately 9 per cent of GDP!

That’s not just an HR problem. That’s a business risk.

An example from the floor

Dave’s been on the factory floor for 12 years. He’s competent, well-liked, and rarely takes time off. But over the last six months, his output has slowed, he’s short with newer staff, and his team has stopped coming to him for help. Management initially chalked it up to personal stress, and assumed he would just sort himself out and things would go back to normal.

Narrator: Things did not go back to normal.

The business eventually called in HR Staff n’ Stuff and one of our team was briefed about a difficult employee who should probably just go.  Instead, our HR Professional sat down and spoke with Dave, and more importantly, listened to Dave.  We discovered that Dave felt overlooked. He hadn’t been upskilled in years, younger staff were promoted over him, and he’d started to believe he was being quietly pushed out. Through a combination of coaching, clearer performance feedback, and a chance to lead training for new recruits, Dave re-engaged, productivity increased and morale within the team was boosted back up to much happier levels.

That’s the power of early intervention, honest conversations, and supportive leadership.

How to turn things around

Disengagement can stem from multiple causes - some you can control, and some you can’t. Yes, burnout is real (we’ve written more about that here), and yes, mental health plays a role - but this blog focuses on what you can do right now to support better engagement. So, a few ideas on reengaging the disengaged:

1. Spot it sooner

Create space for real check-ins. A dip in energy or a pattern of silence is worth exploring. Don’t wait for performance to nosedive before taking action.

2. Don’t sugarcoat, don’t scold

Disengagement is often misunderstood as laziness or disloyalty. In reality, it’s usually about unmet expectations, missed recognition, or unclear purpose. Handle conversations with curiosity, not judgment.

3. Build capability in your team leaders

Team leaders play a very important role in building engagement and resolving issues before they become a huge problem within your business. If they’re avoiding conflict, giving vague feedback, or stuck in “just get it done” mode, they could be amplifying disengagement without realising it.

4. Address the impact — not just the individual

A disengaged employee doesn’t exist in a vacuum. Their peers feel it. They may start questioning why the behaviour is tolerated. Your managers and leaders need to be proactive in setting clear expectations, managing performance, and maintaining fairness.

5. Act early to retain your best people

Your top performers are watching. If they see the business tolerating toxic or low-effort behaviour, they might quietly exit. Engagement strategies aren’t just about improving the bottom - they’re about protecting your top.

Disengagement is fixable

Disengagement is complex, but manageable. As HR consultants, we walk alongside leaders to help address issues with empathy, structure, and strategy. You bring the business goals - we’ll help make sure your team is equipped, supported, and (hopefully) engaged along the way.

Because no matter how many pizza lunches or wellbeing apps you try, meaningful engagement always comes back to one thing: leadership that listens, responds, and acts in the best interests of the people and the ongoing success of the business.