Today I wanna talk about something critical to every organization. Employee disengagement. When employees check out, it’s not random. It’s rooted in issues we can pinpoint and fix. Let’s break down three big culprits, inconsistent scheduling, lack of flexibility, and poor communication.
First inconsistent scheduling. Imagine showing up to work, never knowing your hours or getting last minute shift changes. It can be chaos. Employees can’t plan their lives. Think childcare, doctor’s, visits, even downtime, and all of that breeds frustration. Studies show that stable schedules boost retention by up to 20% when hours bounce around trusty roads and people start looking for the exit.
Next, the lack of flexibility. Today’s workforce craves control over where they work, when and how. If they’re stuck in ridges systems with no room to adjust, like volunteering for a shift they want, or swapping hours, they feel trapped. Research from Cornell found flex scheduling cuts absenteeism by 15%, and it also boosts productivity by 10%. Without it, employees disengage because they’re forced to choose between work and life, not blend them.
Finally, poor communication. If leaders don’t share updates, explain decisions, or listen to feedback, employees feel invisible. A Gallup study found that 74% of employees feel they’re missing key information from their management. That’s a disconnect, right? No transparency, no trust. When people don’t know what’s happening or why they stop caring. Good communication isn’t just nice, it’s the glue that keeps teams engaged.
So what do we do? We stabilize schedules with clear patterns and tools to track them, build, build flexibility, let employees swap shifts or volunteer for roles through mobile apps, and prioritize communication through, uh, like regular updates and two-way channels. These aren’t just fixes, they’re investments engaged employees, stay, produce and lift us all. Let’s tackle these root causes head on. Because when we do, we don’t just keep people, we inspire them.
