the cost of human behaviour on a business of 1000 people.
Layer 01 — Individual
Active disengagement
Gallup 2026
16% of 1,000 employees actively disengaged = 160 people
Gallup: cost of disengagement = 34% of annual salary
$70,000 avg salary × 34% = $23,800 per person
160 × $23,800 = $3,800,000
Annual cost
$3.8M
Layer 02 — Team
Cost of silence
Crucial Learning 2021
91% of 1,000 employees carrying ≥1 avoided conversation = 910 people
$1,500 daily drag cost × 10 days (conservative; documented avg is 14+) = $15,000 per episode
910 × $15,000 = $13,650,000
Annual cost
$13.6M
Layer 02b — Team
Concurrent avoidance
Crucial Learning 2021
Conservative 30% carrying 2+ avoided conversations simultaneously = 300 people
$1,500 × 10 days = $15,000 per additional episode
300 × $15,000 = $4,500,000
Annual cost
$4.5M
Total invisible cost — conservative estimate
Unmeasured. Unmanaged.
Not on the P&L.
Not on the P&L.
6.3% of $350M revenue · floor, not ceiling
$21.9M
per year / 1,000 people
91%
of your people are carrying an unresolved conversation right now
6.3%
of revenue lost to behaviour that never appears on the P&L
$1.1B
five-year cost at a median S&P 500 company — McKinsey 2023
Not included in this model — the real number is higher
64% not engaged (beyond actively disengaged)
Attrition triggered by unresolved behaviour
Decisions made defensively vs strategically
Innovation drag in low-trust teams
Episodes lasting beyond 10 days
$1,500 — dual sourcing
Primary: Crucial Learning published research — organisations save $1,500 plus one working day per crucial conversation held rather than avoided. Direct citation.
Corroborated by derivation: $25,000 (cost of silence, Crucial Learning 2021) ÷ 15 working days = $1,667. Rounded conservatively to $1,500.
Two independent routes. Same number.
Corroborated by derivation: $25,000 (cost of silence, Crucial Learning 2021) ÷ 15 working days = $1,667. Rounded conservatively to $1,500.
Two independent routes. Same number.
Sources
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026
Crucial Learning, Costly Conversations, 2021
McKinsey & Company, 2023
Kegan & Lahey, Immunity to Change, HBS Press 2009
All assumptions stated explicitly. All figures set at lower bound of available ranges. This is a conservative model.
Crucial Learning, Costly Conversations, 2021
McKinsey & Company, 2023
Kegan & Lahey, Immunity to Change, HBS Press 2009
All assumptions stated explicitly. All figures set at lower bound of available ranges. This is a conservative model.