Employee engagement is falling – doubt is the real issue
Jenny Williams argues that falling employee engagement reflects a deeper crisis in how organisations handle uncertainty and doubt.
Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report makes for sobering reading. Global employee engagement has fallen to just 20%, its lowest level since 2020, with an estimated $10trn (£7.8trn) in lost productivity.
Engagement is the psychological attachment workers have to their work, their team and their employees. This disengagement and detachment directly result in lower economic growth.
On the surface this is an engagement problem. But that misses something more fundamental. What we are seeing is not only a crisis of engagement. It is a crisis in how organisations relate to uncertainty.
Because beneath these numbers sits the human story. Stress remains high. Anger, sadness and loneliness are still elevated compared to pre-pandemic levels. Leaders themselves are experiencing more negative emotions than those they lead.
This is not just disengagement. This is an emotionally overloaded workforce navigating constant change, without the space or capability to process what that change brings.
And at the centre of this sits doubt. Doubt about their future, doubt about the impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and the doubts about decisions that are filled with risk and visibility. And yet, in many organisations this doubt has nowhere to go. It is hidden, managed away or only hinted at in surveys such as Gallups report.
Gallup’s data points clearly to where this is most acute: managers. Engagement among managers has dropped significantly, eroding what was once an “engagement premium.” At the same time, managers are expected to lead teams through unprecedented levels of complexity from hybrid working to AI adoption, to the global curveballs that can derail the best laid plans.
In fact, the report highlights that the single biggest driver of successful AI adoption is not the technology itself, but whether managers actively support their teams in using it. This is the paradox. We are asking managers to hold more uncertainty than ever before while giving them little support in how to do that.
Related
Nearly a third of UK workers enjoy their jobs but feel no connection to their organisation, data finds
The mid-career dip: The workforce risk hiding in plain sight
Key to a harmonious inter-generational workforce in 2026
Who really owns the employee experience?
Companies spend millions designing offices for movement – but they are failing to deliver on experience
Two-thirds of neurodivergent employees consider quitting over lack of workplace support – Reed
Voltempo becomes first electric freight firm to join Includability culture framework
78% of employees say recognition and financial rewards drive motivation – Perkbox
One in five candidates reject jobs over employer reputation, research finds
Mitie and Centrica among employers backing volunteering initiative
E.ON recognised across several categories at Digital Technology Leaders Awards
