22-06-2025
Physically present, emotionally checked out: the biggest risk to mental wellbeing
You're not burned out. You're not depressed. You still turn up to work, coffee in hand, emails open.
Something's missing, though. But you can't quite put your finger on it.
This is what experts call languishing.
A new national survey from mental wellbeing experts Be Well Co has cast a spotlight on what might be one of the biggest hidden threats to productivity.
Not sick days, but 'presenteeism': employees physically present but emotionally checked out. Running on autopilot.
'It's not about people not coming to work; it's about them being mentally absent,' said Dr Matthew Iasiello, Be Well Co mental health researcher and co-author of the study that canvassed hundreds of working Australians.
A crisis in plain sight
Many employees aren't calling in sick, they're just quietly disengaging.
That disengagement is driving a $7 billion annual loss to the economy, according to The Productivity Commission.
Dr Joep van Agteren, chief executive of Be Well Co, said the numbers only tell half the story.
'When people languish at work they can feel stuck, directionless and demotivated,' he said.
'Tracking languishing can help us quantify and humanise the hurt that goes alongside the costs, showing us that presenteeism is damaging in the long run for the vitality of organisations and the people that work for them.'
Put simply, employees aren't just less productive.
They're less innovative, more withdrawn, and more disconnected from their jobs, teams, and even themselves.
Present but not thriving
The research reveals over three-quarters of languishing employees felt unsupported by their peers, managers, or organisations.
Dr Maike Neuhaus, founder of The Flourishing Doc and psychologist in Brisbane, Queensland, calls this a dangerous blind spot.
'It's not the loud crisis that gets attention, but rather the quiet disconnection, disengagement, and loss of meaning that fly under the radar,' she said
'The fact that 76 per cent of participants felt unsupported shows just how invisible this state can be.'
And it's not just the workplace that suffers.
A staggering 91 per cent of those who reported languishing at work also reported languishing at home — proving the malaise doesn't stop at the office door.
'Wellbeing is never neatly compartmentalised,' Neuhaus added.
More than just a mood
Unlike burnout, which often comes with high stress and exhaustion, languishing can feel like 'blah'.
That's how some survey participants described it — not distressed, but not thriving.
Emotionally flat, unmotivated, just there.
Many employees described themselves as 'going through the motions' or 'existing, not living'.
It's this subtlety that makes languishing so dangerous and so easy to ignore.
What can be done?
While leaders often focus on absenteeism or obvious drops in performance, experts say they need to start paying attention to the quiet signs of disengagement.
Addressing this isn't just about fixing what's broken, Neuhaus said.
It's about shifting the focus towards what thriving truly looks like in the workplace.
That opposite state is known as flourishing, where energy, purpose and connection return.
According to Neuhaus, it has little to do with surface-level perks.
'Flourishing isn't about perks or resilience posters,' she said.
'It's about job design, autonomy, mastery, purpose, and belonging.
'Organisations must upskill leaders to recognise early signs of disengagement and act systemically.
'This is not an individual deficit issue; it's often a cultural and structural one.
Be Well Co is also urging employers to rethink how they measure well-being and performance.
Instead of relying solely on productivity spreadsheets, they encourage employers to listen to their employees and redesign workplaces.
While workplaces are responsible for building better environments, there are also things everyone can do.
'Languishing often begins with a loss of agency,' Neuhaus explains.
'One powerful first step is to reconnect with small, meaningful actions — something we call micro-moments of flourishing.
'This might include setting an intention for the day, actively engaging with a colleague, or seeking novelty and progress in even minor ways.'
Research shows these small efforts can reignite motivation, rebuild connection, and help shift from languishing to flourishing.
Because at the end of the day, thriving at work isn't about powering through, it's about finding meaning in the everyday.
