The Cost of Disconnected Employees

Managers are closer to their people than they think. The problem is too many employees do not feel it.

I hear this in conversations with leaders every week. Employees feel unheard, unseen and unimportant. Not because their managers are bad people. Not because they do not care. The disconnect happens when leaders are overwhelmed, distracted and convinced they are communicating clearly while their teams experience something very different.

I work with managers who are shocked when high performers resign. They believed things were fine. They assumed silence meant agreement. They mistook compliance for commitment. Meanwhile employees were quietly checking out.

When people feel disconnected, their longevity inside an organization shrinks. Their loyalty erodes. Their productivity drops. They stop bringing ideas forward. They stop challenging thinking. They do the job, not the work. That gap shows up in missed deadlines, reduced innovation and declining energy across teams.

This is not a soft issue. It is a business risk.

Gallup reports that actively disengaged employees are 3.6 times more likely to be looking for another job than engaged employees.

That statistic should stop every manager in their tracks.

When employees do not feel valued, they do not stay. When they do not stay, teams lose momentum, knowledge and trust. Recruiting and onboarding costs rise. Remaining employees absorb the workload and disengagement spreads faster than leaders expect.

Connection is built Monday to Monday®. It shows up in how managers listen without interrupting. It shows up in how feedback is delivered. It shows up in whether employees feel safe enough to speak honestly without consequences. It shows up in consistency.

Managers who strengthen connection see measurable outcomes. Retention improves. Productivity increases. Employees take ownership because they feel ownership. Trust accelerates decision making and reduces friction.

I challenge leaders to pause and ask a hard question. Do your employees feel truly seen by you or simply managed by you?

The answer determines whether your people are building their future with you or planning their exit quietly.