Employee engagement holds steady at 79% despite workload concerns, report finds
People Insight's report on Employee Experience Trends 2026 found that one in five employees reported feeling lonely at work.
79% of employees were engaged in 2025, matching 2024’s figures, according to a new People Insight report on Employee Experience Trends 2026 using Pearl™ engagement model data.
The research found four main forces shaping the workplace: trust and transparency, connection and loneliness, workload and skills, and artificial intelligence’s (AI’s) impact on capacity.
Trust in leadership remained under pressure, with cost controls and restructures leading employees to assess decisions by how they were made, not just outcomes.
Trust in direct managers fell, especially among older workers.
Scores for senior leaders listening to staff rose from 59% in 2024 to 61% in 2025.
The percentage agreeing senior leaders provide a clear vision of direction increased from 60% to 63%.
Understanding of organisational performance moved from 61% to 62%.
On connection, one in five employees reported feeling lonely at work, with 38% of Gen Z in the UK feeling lonely or isolated.
Related
Most Times Top 100 employers still lack clear family support, index finds
Majority of women drop out of sport by mid-30s despite rising interest, E.ON finds
78% of low-paid workers believe better pay improves health, research finds
Retailers shift focus to cost control over employee experience, survey finds
UK employers face rising legal risks managing holiday leave for international staff, data finds
Quarter of employees say workplace rewards are based on favouritism – Perkbox
Google searches for burnout symptoms hit record high in 2026, data reveals
Young workers eight times more likely to report poor mental health at work – MFHA
Work-life balance is the top career goal for Gen Z and Millennials – Deloitte
Only 28% of UK film exhibition workforce feel fairly paid, survey finds
Redundancy handled well boosts employer reputation, data shows
