
Eleven Percent of GDP lost to Employee Disengagement
Josh Freedman of 6seconds counts the cost of Low Emotional Intelligence
Start here: The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence
What’s the most expensive thing in your business that no one’s talking about? Low emotional intelligence.
When leaders don’t manage people well.... when they react instead of respond, avoid tough conversations, or fail to build trust... the cost is enormous.
In fact, 11% of global GDP is lost to disengaged employees.
In this infinity loop from The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence, you can see how low EQ drives tangible, recurring costs.
1. Poor people-management fuels disconnection.
2. That erodes communication, fractures trust, and creates confusion.
3. Which leads to more errors. More accidents. Higher healthcare costs. Absenteeism. Reputational damage. Bad customer relationships.
4. And turnover.
5. Which leads to a worse culture.
- It’s a self-reinforcing spiral: broken culture → poor performance → even weaker culture.
But flip the loop, and the story changes. When emotional intelligence is woven into culture:
- People work better together
- Engagement and retention rise
- Customers feel it — and stay loyal
- A 5% increase in customer loyalty yields a 25% increase in profit.
That’s the power of emotional intelligence in action.
Want to understand how EQ drives real business value?
Start here: The Business Case for Emotional Intelligence
https://lnkd.in/gNBVB3Dp
Where do you see low EQ creating friction — or high EQ creating flow?