How to tell if an employee is disengaged
A disengaged employee still turns up and still does the work. What has gone is the extra: the ideas, the help for others, the interest in what happens next. It builds slowly, so it is easy to miss.
Updated
What it looks like
- They stop offering ideas or opinions.
- They do what is asked and nothing beyond it.
- They stop helping teammates with their work.
- They stop asking about plans, goals or what comes next.
- They join meetings but add nothing.
What it is not
A quiet week is not disengagement. Neither is a person who is naturally reserved.
Look for a change that lasts several weeks, compared with how that person used to work.
Common reasons
- Their good work went unnoticed.
- They do not see where their role leads.
- They have had too much on for too long.
- They have little contact with you.
- They disagreed with a decision and nobody explained it.
How to respond
Start with curiosity. You are looking for the reason, not building a case.
- "What part of your work do you enjoy most right now?"
- "What would you like to do more of?"
- "What has been frustrating lately?"
Then act on the answer
If they feel unseen, thank them for something specific. If they see no path, talk about one next step. If they are overloaded, take work off them first.
Agree on one change and check in again in two weeks.
The signals behind this guide
- When an employee goes quiet: what to look for
Someone is much quieter than usual.
- Are you giving one person less of your time?
One person gets much less of your time than the others.
- How to spot good work nobody is talking about
Someone is doing more than usual, or helping others a lot.
More guides
- Why employees leave and the signs before they go
Why employees leave, the changes a manager can see before someone resigns, and how to start the conversation while there is still time.
- Quiet quitting: the signs, and what to do
What quiet quitting looks like on a team, how it differs from a quiet week, and how a manager can respond without blame.
- One on one questions to ask your team
One on one questions for every part of a 1:1 meeting: workload, the team, growth and you as their manager. Plus what to talk about, and a simple agenda.
- Employee recognition: how to thank good work
Employee recognition that costs nothing: how to notice the work that deserves thanks, how to say it so it lands, and ideas to make sure nobody is missed.
- Signs of burnout at work a manager can see
The signs of burnout at work a manager can see early are about the work: late nights, no breaks, no say. What to look for, what to say, what to change.
- Signs an employee is secretly struggling
The work changes that show someone may be struggling, why they hide it, and how a manager can ask in a way that gets an honest answer.
- Bus factor: how to find it and raise it
Your bus factor is how many people could leave before work stops. How to find the one person your team relies on, and how to spread what they know.
- How to support an employee returning from leave
What to do before, on and after someone's first day back from leave, so they can catch up without being rushed or left out.
- Overwhelmed at work: how a manager can help
What to do when someone has too much on: how to find out what they are carrying, what to take away, and how to check that it worked.
- Employee onboarding: a 90-day plan
A practical plan for a new hire's first days and first 90 days: what to prepare, who they should meet, and what to check on each week.
- Performance review examples for managers
Performance review examples you can adapt for results, teamwork, growth and problems, a short template, and how to write a fair review from facts.
- Employee retention: how to keep your best people
What employee retention depends on, why good people leave, and the habits that keep them: fair workload, real growth and a manager who notices.
- Team health check: how to run one
How to run a team health check in half an hour: what to ask, how to get honest answers, what to do with the result, and what to watch between checks.
- First time manager: what to do first
A plan for a first time manager: meet each person, learn how the team works, start one on ones, and avoid the mistakes most new managers make.
Ready when you are
A quieter morning, starting in your inbox.
Connect the tools your team already uses. Sonarwork reads the past of the ones that keep one, so there is something to look at on day one. Then every weekday morning, the brief lands.
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