The answer most often lies in managerial relationships. A recent national study by Dale Carnegie Training placed the number of “fully engaged” employees at 29%, and “disengaged” employees at 26% – meaning nearly three-quarters of employees are not fully engaged (aka productive). The number one factor the study cited influencing engagement and disengagement was “relationship with immediate supervisor.” While this is no surprise to those in the management business (and we allintuitively know that our attitude toward our boss has a major impact on our feelings about work), my interest here is not to delve into this recent study – but to probe a bit into why manager-employee relationships are so chronically problematic. http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/mind-the-manager/201301/why-are-so-many-employees-disengaged