As shown in Figure 3-4 , withdrawal comes in two forms: psychological (or neglect)
and physical (or exit). Psychological withdrawal consists of actions that provide a mental
escape from the work environment. 56 When an employee is engaging in psychological
withdrawal, “the lights are on, but nobody’s home.” Some business articles refer to psychological
withdrawal as “warm-chair attrition,” meaning that employees have essentially
been lost even though their chairs remain occupied. 57 How big of a problem is psychological
withdrawal? A recent Gallup poll revealed that more than 70 percent of employees feel
“disengaged” from their work (suggesting that the 51 percent work time result discussed
previously may be optimistic!). 58
Psychological withdrawal comes in a number of shapes and sizes. The least serious is
daydreaming, when an employee appears to be working but is actually distracted by random
thoughts or concerns. Socializing refers to the verbal chatting about non-work topics that
goes on in cubicles and offices or at the mailbox or vending machines. Looking busy indicates
an intentional desire on the part of the employee to look like he or she is working, even
when not performing work tasks. 59 Sometimes employees decide to reorganize their desks
or go for a stroll around the building, even though they have nowhere to go. (Those who are
very good at managing impressions do such things very briskly and with a focused look on