Learned Helplessness and Lost Value

Joseph has worked in the intelligence field for over 18 years and is a senior program/project manager, as well as executive advisor and leadership coach. He has over 18 years of project management experience in various forms and enjoys helping organizations and individuals achieve their goals.

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Topics: Leadership, Organizational Culture, Talent Management

Most of us are familiar with the 2016 Gallup statistic that disengaged employees cost companies $450 to $550 billion (USD) annually in lost productivity. But rarely do we talk about the quantifiable value added by engaged employees—and we often take them for granted.

Failing to keep employees engaged at work causes long-lasting heartache and trouble for HR, frontline supervisors, and even senior executives. But most importantly, it’s detrimental to the growth and development of any organization’s most precious resource: its people.

Learned Helplessness
In 1967, American psychologist Martin Seligman and his partner Steven Maier conducted experiments on animals that showed a correlation between exposure to negative stimuli and poor self-efficacy. Ultimately, later experiments were expanded and modified to show and confirm that the feeling of a lack of control often presents in the form of disengagement in humans. (If you want to read about the experiment, I’ve referenced a paper on it below.)

At Work…and the Costs in Value
So, where does this issue begin? Organizational or team culture. Micromanagement, lack of effective communication, and vague expectation management are just some of the instigators that eventually lead to employee disengagement. Then, the feeling of a lack of personal agency and individual value keep the ball rolling.

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