87 E ach day, pollsters at the Gallup compa- ny monitor the upticks and downticks of America's pulse. They track large-scale indi- cators like the country's unemployment rate, the citizenry's economic confidence, and the presi- dent's approval rating. But among these tracked statistics at Gallup lies a less publicized marker: what percentage of U.S. workers say they are en- gaged at their jobs? For managers, the answer may be discouraging: only about one-third of American workers are engaged on the job, Gallup now finds. The em- ployee engagement rate has stayed in that low range for the last 15 years—from 26 percent (on a yearly average basis) in 2000 to 33 percent in 2016, according to Jim Harter, chief scientist of Gallup's international workplace management and well-being practices. Actively disengaged employees cost the United States $450 billion to $550 billion per year, ac- cording to Gallup's research. Employee disen- gagement can increase turnover, pollute office culture, and lead to more mistakes in the work- place. Conversely, Gallup researchers found that organizations that successfully sustain high em- ployee engagement reap serious benefits. On average, profitability is 22 percent higher; pro- ductivity, 21 percent higher; absenteeism, 37 percent lower; and there are 48 percent fewer staff safety incidents. CENTER FOR SALES STRATEGY BLOG Coach to Your Team's Strengths to Improve Employee Engagement by Mark Tarallo - SHRM. Permission to reprint.