In 2013, Gallup estimated that as much as 70 percent of the U.S. workforce was not actively engaged in their jobs. And that dismal figure hasn’t improved much. This is a problem, as engaged workers are the ones who create the most positive impact at their organizations. Gallup found that organizations that averaged 9.3 engaged employees per disengaged worker realized 137 percent higher earnings per share, while companies with 2.6 engaged employees per every disengaged one reported their earnings were 2 percent lower than their competition. In general, Gallup estimates the problem of disengagement costs the U.S. economy anywhere from $450 billion to $550 billion in lost productivity annually. "Engaged employees mean happy employees, and happy employees serve customers best,” says Adam Ochstein, founder and CEO of StratEx. “Providing great service is important in every industry, and it's hard to get employees who don't care about their job to want to provide great service." But getting employees to shift from disengaged to engaged is often difficult. This process starts from the top: If managers aren’t engaged, they can’t expect their employees to be. And the data agree. Gallup found that organizations that reported high levels of executive engagement also reported higher levels of engagement among employees.