Your employees are feeling ‘OK’ – and that’s a serious problem

Senior leaders understand that growth depends on driving performance and managing risk. They’re alert to red flags, such as unhappy employees, declining productivity and high turnover. 

But the real threat is not so obvious. There’s a vast middle ground of teams that look fine on the surface but lack the spark to thrive. They are stuck in ‘OK’.

At first glance, OK doesn’t sound dangerous. Teams aren’t unhappy enough to trigger alarms, nor are they burning out; they keep delivering at an acceptable level. But ‘acceptable’ is not the same as ‘successful’. Teams stuck in OK lack the energy, creativity and ambition to truly thrive. They’re passable, not powerful – and that complacency can quietly erode performance.

Being stuck in OK is deceptive because nothing feels urgent. Leaders don’t feel compelled to act and teams often do not recognise the slow drain on their motivation. Yet across industries, the evidence is clear: mediocrity is not a safe middle ground, it is a risk zone that undermines growth.

The business cost of OK

The difference between happy employees and those who are simply OK is far bigger than most executives realise.

Take productivity. My research, and that of others, shows that happier employees are around 20% to 30% more productive than their less-engaged peers. On its own, that’s already a strong case for ensuring employee happiness. But the real difference emerges over time. Happy employees also stay longer. They build deeper expertise, stronger client relationships and greater cultural stability.

Combine higher productivity with longer tenure, and the effect is multiplied. In fact, the lifetime value of a happy employee is more than twice that of an OK one. This is not soft sentiment – it’s hard economics.

By contrast, OK teams bring hidden costs. They are about twice as likely to miss targets as happy teams and have 50% higher staff turnover. They are also less collaborative, less creative and less resilient when challenges arise. And, because such teams rarely make a fuss, leaders can easily overlook these risks until they start showing up in financial results.

Unhappiness is often loud – people disagree, disengage or defect. OK is quiet. It sits there, eroding performance slowly, quarter by quarter. That is why it is so dangerous at the organisational level.

Early warning signs for senior leaders

For leaders, the challenge is spotting when teams are drifting into OK before the damage is done. Traditional engagement surveys can miss this, because they focus on avoiding negatives rather than building positives.

Happiness is different. It’s a dynamic measure, responsive to weekly shifts in team life. When tracked consistently, it acts as an early warning system for under-performance, turnover and burnout.

We see this clearly in the data. Teams that report being unhappy in one quarter are more than three times as likely to see employees leave in the next quarter. Teams with low scores for appreciation or work/life balance are at much higher risk of burnout. These are not just correlations – they are powerful signals that leaders can use to take action before problems escalate.

The message is simple: workforce happiness is not just a feel-good factor, it is a key determinant of business success.

Getting teams unstuck

So how can leaders move their people from OK to happy – and from surviving to thriving?

First, reframe happiness as a serious business metric. It’s not vague or fluffy. It’s measurable, trackable and improvable. It connects directly to performance, retention and, ultimately, profit.

Second, focus on the drivers of happiness. I’ve identified five ways to develop happiness at work: connect, be fair, empower, challenge and inspire. These may sound simple, but together they provide a practical framework for creating conditions where people flourish.

Often, the key is not fixing obvious negatives but improving the neutral zones. Maybe collaboration is supported but uninspiring. Maybe feedback is adequate but not motivating. Maybe goals are clear but not energising. These areas don’t set off alarms, but when they improve, the whole team can shift from OK to engaged. Small wins matter – and they compound over time.

Third, embed a rhythm of measure-meet-repeat.

• Measure: Use light-touch weekly pulses and deeper quarterly surveys to gather data.
• Meet: Bring teams together to discuss results, identify blockers and celebrate progress.
• Repeat: Build momentum with regular reflection and action.

This rhythm transforms data into dialogue, which helps organisations to improve. It keeps happiness and performance at the forefront.

A strategic imperative

The danger of getting stuck in OK is that it normalises mediocrity. Teams tick along, but they don’t innovate, grow or outperform. In today’s competitive environment, that’s a slow decline. Happy employees add twice the value of those who are merely OK.

The choice, therefore, is clear: ignore happiness and risk cycles of under-performance, turnover and burnout, or invest in it and gain stability, energy, creativity and growth.

For senior leaders, the question is not whether you can afford to focus on employee happiness, it’s whether you can afford not to.

Nic Marks is an independent policy adviser, speaker, statistician and author

Senior leaders understand that growth depends on driving performance and managing risk. They're alert to red flags, such as unhappy employees, declining productivity and high turnover. 

But the real threat is not so obvious. There's a vast middle ground of teams that look fine on the surface but lack the spark to thrive. They are stuck in ‘OK’.

At first glance, OK doesn’t sound dangerous. Teams aren’t unhappy enough to trigger alarms, nor are they burning out; they keep delivering at an acceptable level. But 'acceptable' is not the same as 'successful'. Teams stuck in OK lack the energy, creativity and ambition to truly thrive. They’re passable, not powerful – and that complacency can quietly erode performance.