More than half of employees are disengaged, or "quiet quitting" their jobs

A large share of employees worldwide are sour on their jobs, a new survey finds.

More than half of workers in the U.S. and across the world say they're not engaged at work and are doing the bare minimum to meet their job requirements, according to a report from Gallup.

Just 23% of workers said they were "engaged" at work in 2022, according to the survey. The remainder — 77% — were either doing the bare minimum and "quiet quitting" their jobs, or actively disengaged and "loud quitting" at work. 

The fifty-nine percent who aren't motivated to go above and beyond at work "are filling a seat and watching the clock," according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2023 Report. "They put in the minimum effort required, and they are psychologically disconnected from their employer."

Not surprisingly, these workers are less productive than their more engaged counterparts and collectively cost the global economy $8.8 trillion in lost productivity, Gallup calculated.

Some of what's driving workers' less-than-stellar experiences on the job includes an erosion of autonomy stemming from companies calling workers back to the office after COVID-19 drove remote work, according to the report.

The high rate of disengagement at work is also tied to elevated levels of stress and anger, with 44% of respondents telling Gallup they felt "a lot of stress" the day before — the second year in a row that self-reported stress hit a record high. 

"Room for growth"

The good news is that these workers aren't lost causes, and there are steps corporations can take to turn them into more productive assets. 

"There is a lot of room for growth," Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist for workplace management and wellbeing, told CBS MoneyWatch. 

He added that Gallup has studied individual organizations that have driven the share of engaged workers up from the 20% to 30% range up to 70%. 

"Fixing that number is very possible, but it takes a lot of time," he added. 

Quick to jump ship

Actively disengaged workers have what Harter called "a pretty miserable work experience" and could easily be pried away from their organizations. 

Engaged employees say they'd require a 31% pay increase to leave their posts, while not engaged or actively disengaged workers would only require a 22% pay increase to switch jobs, according to a Gallup analysis. 

Quiet quitters also know what it would take to engage them. Eighty-five percent of the suggestions they gave Gallup about improving their work experience related to company culture, pay and benefits, or wellbeing and work/life balance. 

The shifts they cited include:

• Recognition for contributed work
• More approachable managers
• More autonomy and room for creativity
• Greater respect
• Better pay and benefits
• More remote work
• Longer breaks

"Certainly, autonomy underpins most of the engagement elements," Harter said. "When people feel they can take ownership for their work, most people come to work wanting to make a difference. Managers can give that to them."