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Global Engagement Slides Manager Burnout Emerges as a Critical Weak Link
Engagement Remains Low—and Trending in the Wrong Direction
The “Manager Effect”: The Primary Driver Behind the Decline
Rising Stress, Mobility, and Disconnection
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The latest global workplace research shows employee engagement stuck near historic lows, with only about one in five workers engaged worldwide and declines driven largely by falling manager engagement. While the US remains above the global average, it too has slipped from prior highs. The data point to a widening gap between rising workplace expectations and organizations’ ability to systematically manage engagement, with methodology centered on large-scale survey analytics of employee perceptions.While the US clearly has a problem, in Europe, the Middle East and North Africa it’s a crisis: only about 13% of employees feel engaged at work. At least in Europe, the disparity with the US is particularly noteworthy, given much more attention there to well-being in terms of health care, generous vacation time, and other perquisites common in Europe, such as meal tickets.
The authors say the report highlights a central paradox: engagement is widely recognized as critical to performance, yet remains persistently low and, in some cases, declining. The report suggests that incremental programmatic approaches are insufficient. Instead, the path forward may require a more systemic focus on management capability, workplace design, and measurable engagement processes—areas where many organizations still lack formal training or methodology.
Editors note: Take this quick anonymous quiz to rate your own level of knowledge of how to foster the proactive involvement of people in work or life.
The US continues to outperform the global average, with about 31% of employees engaged compared to 21% globally. However, this relative strength masks a concerning trend. US engagement has declined from a peak of 36% in 2020 and now sits at roughly a decade low. Younger workers have experienced the most significant declines, suggesting a generational shift in expectations and workplace experience that organizations have yet to address effectively.
Regionally, engagement is highest in the US/Canada and Latin America (31%) and lowest in Europe (13%) and the Middle East/North Africa (14%), highlighting wide disparities in workplace conditions and management practices.
The newest global workplace findings confirm a troubling reality: despite years of investment in engagement initiatives, the percentage of engaged employees remains stubbornly low and, in some cases, declining. According to the latest data, just 21% of employees worldwide are engaged, down from 23% the prior year—only the second decline in more than a decade. The report highlights a sharp drop in manager engagement as a primary driver, reinforcing the critical role leadership plays in shaping employee experiences. At the same time, regional disparities, rising stress levels, and high intent to leave suggest that engagement challenges are becoming more systemic and less responsive to traditional programmatic approaches.
The findings are based on what Gallup says is one of the largest ongoing workplace studies, using a standardized survey instrument measuring employee perceptions of workplace conditions, management, and engagement drivers around the world. The methodology aggregates responses from thousands of organizations and millions of employees globally, enabling consistent comparisons across regions, industries, and demographic groups. This longitudinal approach allows researchers to track trends over time and identify structural shifts in engagement.
Engagement Remains Low—and Trending in the Wrong Direction
Globally, only 21% of employees are engaged, while 62% are “not engaged” and 17% are actively disengaged—meaning they are psychologically detached and often counterproductive. This represents one of the lowest engagement levels in recent years and underscores a long-standing stagnation in workforce commitment. The trend is particularly concerning because engagement has declined despite a decade of increased focus and investment. The drop from 23% to 21% marks just the second decline in 12 years, suggesting that engagement is not only difficult to improve but also fragile in the face of workplace disruption.
The business implications are significant. Disengagement is estimated to cost the global economy close to $10 trillion annually in lost productivity, reinforcing the link between engagement and financial performance.
The “Manager Effect”: The Primary Driver Behind the Decline
One of the most important insights from the report is the central role of managers. Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%, with the steepest declines among younger and female managers.
This matters because managers account for up to 70% of the variance in team engagement, making them the single most important lever organizations have. The report suggests that managers are increasingly caught between rising executive demands and evolving employee expectations, leading to burnout and reduced effectiveness. As manager engagement declines, team engagement follows—a systemic ripple effect that undermines organizational performance.
Rising Stress, Mobility, and Disconnection
Beyond engagement, the report reveals deeper workforce challenges. About 40% of employees report experiencing significant daily stress, and half say they are actively seeking or watching for new job opportunities. At the same time, only one-third of employees globally are considered “thriving” in their overall lives, while the majority are struggling. These findings suggest that engagement is not an isolated workplace issue but part of a broader disconnect between employees and their organizations.
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Services
Celebrating our 15th year, the Enterprise Engagement Alliance helps organizations enhance performance through:
1. Information and marketing opportunities on stakeholder management and total rewards:
ESM Weekly on stakeholder management since 2009; click here for a media kit.
RRN Weekly on total rewards since 1996; click here for a EEA YouTube channel on enterprise engagement, human capital, and total rewards insights and how-to information since 2020.
2. Learning: Purpose Leadership and Stakeholder
Management Academy to enhance future equity value and performance for your organization.3. Books on implementation: Enterprise Engagement for CEOs and Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap.
4. Advisory services and research: Strategic guidance, learning and certification on stakeholder management, measurement, metrics, and corporate sustainability reporting.
5. Permission-based targeted business development to identify and build relationships with the people most likely to buy.
6. Public speaking and meeting facilitation on stakeholder management. The world’s leading speakers on all aspects of stakeholder management across the enterprise.
