U.S. employees remain emotionally detached from their workplaces, and most are still watching for their next opportunity. As of midyear, Gallup data show 32% of employees are engaged in their work, a stagnation that points to deeper organizational challenges.
Leading organizations today has increased in complexity with transitions to hybrid and remote work, rapid organizational change, new customer and employee experience expectations, inefficient performance management practices, and changes in technology.
Since 2000, Gallup has used employee engagement surveys to track U.S. engagement through 12 scientifically validated items that capture the daily experiences and behaviors most strongly tied to performance outcomes across industries, measuring employee engagement nationwide. In the decade following the 2008 global economic crisis, engagement climbed steadily, peaking at 36% in early 2020. Then came the pandemic, and with it, the Great Resignation. Since 2021, engagement has generally declined, hitting an 11-year low of 30% in 2024.
Gallup's latest employee engagement statistics show that engagement has inched up one percentage point in the second quarter of 2025, but for the full first half of the year, the overall trend remains flat. Gallup’s latest research sheds light on why engagement is important on a macro scale: The cost of disengagement in the U.S. is now approximately $2 trillion in lost productivity.
Among the 12 items that collectively measure employee engagement, Gallup found in Q2 2025:
- 47% of employees strongly agree that they know what is expected of them at work
- 31% strongly agree that someone at work encourages their development
- 32% feel strongly connected to their organization’s mission or purpose
- 28% strongly agree that their opinions count at work
Further complicating things, fewer than one in five employees (19%) are extremely satisfied with their employer as a place to work, and most (51%) are still actively looking or keeping an eye out for job openings elsewhere.
Why Employees Are Detached: Four Themes
To understand the persistent gap between what organizations do and what employees need — and what it will take to close it — earlier this year, Gallup asked thousands of employees, “What’s missing from your current work experience that would make you feel more connected to your employer?” Their responses fell into four core themes affecting workplace engagement:
Organizational Culture: A Sense of Belonging, Autonomy, Wellbeing, Values
Thirty-two percent describe their workplace as isolated or impersonal, lacking the conditions that help people feel emotionally connected to their teams. For Gen Z workers (44%) and remote employees (41%), the lack of cohesion is even more stark.
“There is a gulf between fully remote employees and ones who could go into the office.”
“More team building; more feedback.”
Leadership Transparency: Communication, Employment Stability, Strategic Vision, Visibility, Involvement
Twenty-nine percent (29%) say they lack clear, honest or consistent communication from leaders. Employees want transparent leadership, visibility and two-way trust; not top-down directives in isolation.
“My employer stopped being receptive to ground-up communication. That was a giant blow to morale.”
“Communication is lacking where I work in all facets of the business. More communication would be effective in improving morale as well as efficiency in operations.”
Resource Investment: Compensation, Perks and Benefits, Human and Financial Resources, Tools and Systems
A quarter of employees (25%) say their organizations underinvest in people, pay, tools or staffing.
“Lack of follow-through on [the] promise of increased wages.”
“Coworkers. All locations have been short-staffed for years, so we’re all working solo.”
“Too many managers and not enough laborers.”
Performance Management: Development, Accountability, Recognition
Fourteen percent cite a lack of feedback, recognition or development opportunities.
“Transparent development and succession planning with clear objectives and expectations.”
“One-on-one meetings.”
“Accountability from certain parties.”
What Leaders Are Facing, and How They Can Respond
Challenges like staffing, recruitment, and maintaining employee engagement and retention continue to test leadership capacity. Stagnant engagement and a growing sense of employee detachment may reflect deeper shifts in how leadership and management are impacting employees.
In the Q2 survey, Gallup asked 500 senior leaders at the vice president level and above to name their organization’s biggest challenges. Their open-ended responses fell into these categories:
- financial and economic pressures
- an increasingly complex regulatory and political environment
- volatile customer behavior and shifting market conditions
- staffing and recruitment challenges
- complexities of integrating infrastructure and emerging technologies
All of these factors increase the strain on leaders.
Though the business landscape has transformed, many traditional management systems haven’t kept up. Outdated and inefficient performance practices worsen issues instead of solving them. Meeting today’s demands requires strategies that improve employee engagement, along with clear leadership and follow-through:
On Organizational Culture
Culture doesn’t form by chance. Especially in hybrid environments, connection takes planning: frequent feedback, shared routines and meaningful interaction. Everyone should understand the organization’s priorities and know how their roles fit as things change.
On Leadership Transparency
In times of change, ambiguity from leadership can create uncertainty. Employees want leaders who show up, explain the “why” and invite input. Without space for employee voice, trust breaks down, and building trust becomes even harder. A manager’s job must include regular, meaningful, and individualized feedback with each team member, regardless of whether they work remotely, hybrid or on-site.
It might feel easier to ignore employee concerns when talent is abundant, but that’s shortsighted. Employees are often closer to customers and can spot problems early. Their choices affect outcomes, whether leadership listens or not.
On Resource Investment
Employees notice when organizations cut corners. They want fair compensation that reflects their efforts, tools that enable success and staffing levels that promote sustainable work.
On Performance Management
An effective talent retention strategy means performance systems must align with clear leadership and culture to deliver the full benefits of employee engagement. Many employees learned the value of increased autonomy during the pandemic, but it only works if expectations and accountability are clear. Once- or twice-a-year reviews can’t replace weekly feedback on individual performance, team collaboration and customer value, the kind of insights best supported by effective employee engagement tools. Developing engaged employees requires real-time feedback.
Some of your managers could successfully oversee larger teams, but who are they? Organizations need a valid way to answer that. Gallup has studied this and is expanding on its solutions to help.
Hope Is Strategic
Gallup’s global research shows that the No. 1 thing employees want from leaders is hope, which means having a clear vision of the future and their role in it. For leaders genuinely asking how to engage employees, hope isn’t vague optimism. It comes from clarity, consistency, coaching and credibility, and is a foundation of successful employee engagement programs.
Organizations that succeed will be those that give employees a sense of hope and connect their employee engagement strategy to people’s daily experiences. They will treat engagement not as a survey metric but as a performance system, one supported by intentional employee engagement initiatives based on trust, accountability and leadership at every level.
If your employees aren’t on board, no strategy will work, and no effort to increase employee engagement will be sustainable. But when you equip your managers with the right skills and your culture supports them, you can improve employee engagement and performance. This remains true even during economic uncertainty and difficult conditions.
