Ashish Kothari argues most companies use only 44% of their human potential, costing a mid-size S&P company $228-$355 million annually. The losses come from attrition, disengagement, stress, and meeting overload. He says it's a systems problem, not a people problem.
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If I told you one of your production lines was running at 44% efficiency, you would stop everything and fix it. But that is exactly what is happening with your people right now. Our research shows organizations are operating at less than 50% of their human capital potential. Compare that to 70% plus for physical assets we expect. The machines get optimized, the people get a wellness app. Here is what the 50% losses look like in practice. Availability losses from attrition and absenteeism can erode 10% to 20% of human capital value. Performance losses from disengagement, lack of meaning, stress, conflicts with colleagues, and meeting overload can erode another 25% to 50%. Quality losses from decision fatigue and distraction take away another 5% to 10%. For a medium-sized S&P company, these losses can amount to $228 to $355 million in lost productivity annually. The gap between current state and full potential, that is not a people problem. That is a systems problem.