According to Gallup, the American workforce’s poor levels of engagement cost companies $450 to $550 billion in lost productivity annually. However, feelings of disengagement are not equally distributed across the workforce. Most run-of-the-mill employees would probably express some level of disengagement, while executive-level employees and managers are more likely to feel “plugged in.” It is crucial that companies recognize this engagement gap and strive to close it. One of the major reasons for this gap, according to studies, is that while executives and managers understand that their employee engagement levels play an important role in their company’s overall success, few organizations are doing a good job of actually engaging their employees. One way to combat this is to focus on the idea of work with a purpose. Without purpose, there is no reason for the employee to feel engaged. Engagement programs should focus on demonstrating the importance of an employee’s day-to-day tasks, and how that employee fits into the overall goals of the organization. Demonstrating an employee’s individual value will have a tremendous impact on the level of engagement.