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Cost of Employee Disengagement Calculator

Put a dollar figure on the quiet productivity drain most engagement surveys never cost out.

Your numbers

Only about 20% of employees are engaged globally (Gallup)
Estimated annual cost
 
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How do you calculate the cost of disengaged employees?

Multiply the number of disengaged employees by their average salary, then by the productivity loss a disengaged employee represents. Gallup estimates that loss at about 18% of salary for disengaged staff. To find your disengaged headcount, multiply total headcount by one minus your engagement rate.

Where Compono fits

An engagement survey tells you the score. It does not tell you who is drifting, why, or what to do before they go quiet. Compono Engage reads the behavioural signals behind the score, so you can act on the person, not just the percentage. It is the people insight layer that sits on top of the process most HR platforms already run. Compono holds 4.8 out of 5 on Capterra and is built on decades of psychometric research, not AI hype.

See how it works

How it's calculated

We start from your engagement rate. Whatever is left is your disengaged headcount. Gallup's State of the Global Workplace research puts the productivity loss of a disengaged employee at about 18% of their salary. We apply that figure to your disengaged headcount, a deliberately conservative approach. Change the engagement rate to match your own survey data and the number updates.

New to the term? Read the plain-English definition of employee engagement in the HR Glossary.

Common questions

How much does employee disengagement cost globally?

Gallup's State of the Global Workplace estimates low engagement costs the world economy around $10 trillion a year in lost productivity, equal to roughly 9% of global GDP.

What percentage of employees are disengaged?

Gallup reports that only about 20% of employees worldwide are engaged at work, which leaves the large majority either not engaged or actively disengaged.

What is the difference between disengaged and actively disengaged?

A disengaged employee has checked out and does the minimum. An actively disengaged employee is unhappy and can work against the organisation's goals. Gallup costs disengagement at about 18% of salary; the actively disengaged cost more again.

This page is general information, not legal advice. We check figures annually and update them on a best-efforts basis, but employment rules change and we cannot promise everything here is current or complete. Before you act on it, confirm the detail with the relevant authority in your country or your own adviser. Last reviewed July 2026.