To battle employee disengagement, companies should address the root causes that prevent workers from thriving, according to a March 12 report from the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership.

Focused on women in particular, the report suggests addressing three barriers that limit women from excelling: poor communication, lack of transparency and problematic managerial actions. Addressing these barriers can drive performance, improve culture and help all employees thrive, the report found.

“This research is not just about understanding women’s experiences — it provides a blueprint for leaders to adapt these insights and accelerate performance across their entire workforce,” Susan MacKenty Brady, CEO of the Simmons University Institute for Inclusive Leadership, said in a statement. “When women thrive, organizations thrive — delivering greater productivity, innovation and long-term success.”

The institute defines thriving as “making positive contributions, learning and being valued and recognized” and has a Thrive Index that tracks how employees feel they are thriving.

Notably, the study found that women are far from reaching the “always thriving” mark. Based on a scale from 1 (never thriving) to 5 (always thriving), respondents averaged 3.4 in early 2024 and dropped to 3.2 by the end of the year.

Based on the three main barriers, the institute recommended that leaders focus on clear, open and transparent dialogue; provide access to honest information; and address poor leadership behaviors such as conflict avoidance, micromanagement and active discrimination.

To additionally address employee motivation, managers should focus on clear strategic direction and meaningful feedback rather than monitoring and incentives, according to research published in the MIT Sloan Management Review. Providing clarity and autonomy leads to ethical behavior, innovation and long-term commitment, the report found.

And while HR pros say feedback initiatives are increasing, they’re struggling to take action on employee feedback and feel less confident that their listening programs can deliver measurable impact, according to a Perceptyx report. HR leaders pointed to increasingly intense HR workloads as the main barrier.

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