The most disengaged employees in workplaces around the world are those in Gen Y - people born in the early 1980s through the early 1990s. So, we are talking about workers up to age 28. The study was conducted by BlessingWhite and looked at employee engagement levels at companies on four continents. When I stopped to think about these results, they made a lot of sense. Typically, an organization’s youngest workers are at the bottom of the corporate heap and don’t have much power or influence. Gen Y’s probably don’t see a bright and shiny future from where they sit. They feel underutilized, disillusioned, and disconnected from the organization’s strategy.

I suspect a lot of this disengagement is related to reality shock. I’ve heard some Gen Y’ers (including two of my children) say that they were sold a bill of goods by their parents and teachers. Even though it was a long time ago, I can remember having some reality shock when I graduated from college and went to work at my first professional job. It wasn’t at all what I expected.

One interesting finding from the BlessingWhite study is that young workers in India are the exception to the rule when it comes to disengagement. Here are the reported levels of disengagement:

• India - 14 percent
• North America - 25 percent
• Australia & NZ - 25 percent
• Europe (except UK & Eire) - 28 percent
• UK and Ireland - 30 percent
• China - 33 percent
• SE Asia - 35 percent

What’s your take on these findings from the BlessingWhite study?