Are Your Employees Coasting? How to Spot It and Stop It

In an ideal world, motivation wouldn’t be a problem. Everybody would be a top performer all the time! But real life is messy and complicated. There are all sorts of things that can make or break a person’s sense of engagement. Fed-up employees don’t always turn to quitting their jobs, though. Sometimes, it’s just easier to disengage and keep getting paid. Look around: are your employees truly locked in, or are they coasting?

Here, we’ll explore what it means to coast at work, how to spot the signs that your people are disengaging, and what HR leaders can do to prevent it.

What is coasting at work?

Coasting at work refers to a state where an employee is doing just enough to avoid getting fired. They’re not exactly reaching for the stars, just floating in the clouds.

But first, a reminder: coasting isn’t some binary switch, and it’s not inherently bad. Plenty of people go into work every day, meet their targets, and clock out—totally fine! They might want to get home to family, or maybe they have a second job to get to. Or it could be that they just aren’t career-minded. (And, let’s face it, there are plenty of valid reasons for not wanting a promotion.) 

On the more severe end, however, you have people who are showing up and pretending to look busy. For whatever reason, they’ve checked out, resigned to going through the motions to collect their paycheck.

Coasting is also not the same as burnout or being entirely disengaged. Employees experiencing burnout are often exhausted, overwhelmed, and may be struggling with their mental and physical health. Disengaged employees may be actively withdrawn, negative, or even disruptive. Coasting, on the other hand, is often more subtle. Coasting employees are still showing up and doing the bare minimum to get by, but they’re far from fully invested in their work.

Why should HR leaders take coasting seriously? Because while it might seem harmless on the surface, a team of employees who are all coasting can have a significant impact on business performance. (According to Gallup, employees who are actively disengaged cost the world $8.8 trillion in lost productivity!) Efficiency drops, morale plummets, new ideas dry up, and everyone feels less motivated.

How common is coasting in the workplace?

The Great Resignation really shook things up, didn’t it? Naturally, you might think all your dissatisfied employees have bailed for greener pastures. But evidence would suggest otherwise.

Gallup’s 2022 State of the Global Workplace report finds that half of US employees are neither engaged nor disengaged. Among other things, the survey found that 39% of employees described themselves as “coasting” compared to the 42% who described themselves as “thriving.”

Coasting involves a decline in effort or enthusiasm that may not be immediately obvious. While it’s tough to get precise numbers on coasting at work, checking out the data on related issues like productivity and engagement can give us a pretty good idea of how common it is.

• For example, Gallup’s research consistently highlights concerns about employee engagement levels. Disengagement is a close cousin of coasting, and high disengagement rates suggest that a major portion of the workforce might be phoning it in.
• Coasting at work can manifest in lots of different ways depending on the job and industry. In sales, it might look like an employee meeting their basic targets but not actively pursuing new leads. Or in customer service, they do enough, but they don’t really go hard. And in development, an employee might finish their tasks but won’t seek out new challenges or contribute to innovation.

The business impact of coasting employees

At its most serious, coasting can be a real spanner in the works. Poor engagement lowers productivity and raises absenteeism. And the estimated price tag on that? Over a third of an employee’s salary down the drain, according to Gallup data. 

Along with burning a hole in your pocket, out of control coasting can end up affecting your work culture, too. As we know, every employee contributes to workplace culture, for better or worse. And nothing disengages others more quickly than colleagues who’ve already checked out. That’s why it’s so important to recognize and manage coasting employees. 

But it’s not just the business that will see an impact. When an employee coasts to the point of neglecting responsibilities, the rest of their team has to pick up the slack. One person not pulling their weight increases the strain on everyone else. In the worst-case scenario, this can drive your high performers towards quitting or even experiencing full-on burnout.

The consequences of employees coasting at work

Unchecked coasting can have a ripple effect throughout an organization, leading to:

• Loss of productivity: When people coast at work, it really means they’re not giving it their all. This can cause them to miss deadlines, turn in work that’s not up to par, and ultimately produce less. If it keeps up, it can seriously mess with a team’s ability to meet its goals.
• Cultural effects: Coasting can negatively affect both individual employee engagement and team morale. When some folks on the team aren’t pulling their weight, it can create resentment among their more hard-working colleagues. This can lead to less teamwork, more arguments, and overall, a stressful environment.
• Financial implications: The hidden cost of underperforming employees can be huge. Beyond the lower output, coasting can also mean lost opportunities, less creativity, and damage to the company’s reputation. All of that can impact the business in the long run.

But, to understand how to stop coasting at work, you need to understand the underlying causes. 

So, what causes employees to coast at work?

Remember, not everyone cares about climbing the career ladder and it’s unrealistic to expect otherwise. You could describe someone as “coasting” if they stayed in the same position in a company for years. But that doesn’t exactly harm the business, especially if they’re still passionate about their work.

Take a doctor, for instance—they might pass on a promotion to Chief of Staff to keep caring for their beloved patients. Or an employee might be delighted with their regular office gig, doing their job well without chasing promotions or extra responsibilities.

But what about the more problematic examples of coasting in the workplace? It would be easy to say that employees who coast through their jobs are lazy, and leave it there. However, we all know it’s more complex than that. HR and managers should understand the underlying causes in order to address coasting effectively.

Top 7 reasons employees coast at work

1. Lack of clear goals or career progression: Employees without clear goals or a path for career progression may feel a lack of purpose and motivation, which breeds stagnation and coasting.
2. Poor management or lack of accountability: When managers aren’t really managing, feedback is all over the place, and nobody’s held responsible, it creates an environment where coasting is tolerated (or even worse, encouraged). If employees think no one’s watching or that they won’t get in trouble for not doing their best, they’re more likely to reduce their effort.
3. Feeling undervalued or underutilized: Assigning tasks below an employee’s skill level or not recognizing their contributions can lead to disengagement and coasting.
4. Minimal performance tracking or feedback: Employees who don’t receive clear, regular performance feedback might just cruise along without knowing if they’re on track or need to step it up. Tools like Zensai’s Perform365 can make it simple to keep tabs on performance and give feedback regularly.
5. Workplace stress and employee burnout: Employees may strategically disengage as a way to cope when feeling overwhelmed or exhausted by their workload. In order to solve employee disengagement, it’s important to address the warning signs of burnout and provide the necessary support to your people.
6. Lack of professional development: Ignoring an employee’s growth by skipping them for promotions, not offering skill development, and withholding feedback can lead to them feeling checked out and annoyed.
7. Personal issues: Coasting happens, right? And sometimes it can be coming from personal issues, like a breakup, bereavement, or physical or mental health challenges. In these cases, it’s best not to pry, but offer support however possible.

Now that you know the causes of coasting at work, let’s distinguish between coasting and disengagement.

Coasting vs. disengagement: What’s the difference?

Like we’ve said, coasting is a consequence of low employee engagement. And if you’ve read  any of our engagement-focused content in the past, you’ll know engagement has a lot of influences. It’s easy to confuse coasting with disengagement, but there are some key differences.

• Coasting employees: Are still showing up and doing the bare minimum to avoid getting chopped. They may be meeting basic expectations, but they’re not going above and beyond. They’re often less vocal about their dissatisfaction.
  
  
• Disengaged employees: May actively withdraw, become disruptive, or express their unhappiness openly. This can also look like missed deadlines, avoided tasks, and a dip in team morale overall.

Here’s a helpful way to think about it:

Coasting is like driving with the parking brake on. Sure, you’re still moving forward, but you’re not going as fast or as efficiently as you could be.

Disengagement is like driving with a flat tire. You’re not going anywhere, and you need to take action to get back on track. Wondering how to spot disengaged employees on your team? Keep an eye out for these signs:

• Only meeting their minimum targets.
• Never taking the initiative.
• Not contributing meaningfully in meetings.
• Lack of interest in feedback.
• Poor time management.
• Pretending to look busy.
• Cyberloafing (messing around online rather than working).

How HR can address and prevent coasting at work

Seeing signs someone’s coasting at work? Chat with them first. Open communication is key! If you’re noticing those red flags, starting a conversation with the employee is always the best move. HR plays an especially significant role in addressing and preventing employees from coasting in the workplace.

Here are our key strategies:

Establish clear and measurable performance metrics

This involves making sure everyone knows what “good work” looks like. Tools like Perform365 can help with employee goal-setting and feedback. This will keep everyone on track and make it easy to spot anyone who might be taking it a little too easy.

For example, picture a sales team where success is all about closing deals. If a salesperson just hits their minimum requirement, but never exceeds it, and shies away from bigger deals, that’s probably coasting. With a good performance tracking system, the sales manager can spot this pattern quickly by comparing performance to goals.

Enhance employee engagement efforts

Make your workplace a well of engagement and motivation! Give employees work that matters, chances to learn and get better, and recognition for a job well done.

Want to tackle the growing issue of employees feeling disconnected? HR can boost engagement by making work more meaningful. Things like job crafting, where people tweak their roles to match their skills and passions, are great for lifting spirits and increasing that “I’m proud of what I do” feeling.

Upskill and reskill employees

Coasting can be combated by providing opportunities for continuous learning and development. Offering a variety of employee training, workshops, or mentorship programs can help your people stay invested in their jobs.

People who care about their careers need to feel like they’re moving forward. Pass someone over for a promotion one too many times, and they’re going to check out. To keep them engaged, you’ve got to offer them growth—new skills, different tasks, regular feedback and support. Without this, otherwise ambitious employees will inevitably get frustrated.

Improve leadership and management

Train managers to provide regular, constructive feedback, recognize and reward good performance, and address underperformance quickly and effectively. Encourage leaders to have 1:1 check-ins with their team members and provide ongoing support.

As Andy Roberts, Zensai’s Chief Product Officer, points out, frequent check-ins “normalize the performance conversation, that feedback process,” making it a habitual part of the work culture. Regular communication helps managers stay aware of employee progress and catch any potential issues before they lead to coasting. Learn how to manage employee engagement on Microsoft Teams and level up your leadership and management strategies.

Final thoughts and next steps

Coasting at work, while sometimes subtle, is a real thing (and it’s not good). It can mess with productivity, kill the team vibe, and hurt overall business success. Usually, it’s a consequence of low employee engagement, which can be caused by many influencing factors, including company culture and management style. HR professionals need to jump on this!

It’s not enough to just measure people’s engagement. You’ve got to actually get them to change their behavior. One strategy is to have regular chats with employees. These keep communication open, and you can get a sense of how they’re feeling and what problems might pop up. Using tools like Perform365, these chats can:

• Help employees know what to expect
• Make people more engaged
• Provide opportunities to learn and grow
• Improve how managers lead. 

Unlock the power of continuous performance management – Download your free eBook!

Discover how to build a culture of continuous feedback and performance improvement. Learn practical strategies to track progress, foster growth, and boost employee engagement all year round! Read this guide to move away from outdated annual reviews and embrace a more dynamic approach to managing performance.

Download your free copy of “Embracing Continuous Performance Management” and take your team’s performance to the next level.