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Global Data Summary — State of the Global Workplace 2026

In 2025, 20% of employees worldwide were engaged at work. Global employee wellbeing improved for the first time in three years, increasing by one percentage point to 34%. The percentage of employees who reported experiencing a lot of stress, anger and sadness the previous day remained above pre-pandemic levels. Global perceptions of the job market improved in 2025 to 52% of employees who say it is a good time to find a job where they live. These findings come from Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report (published April 2026; data collected January-December 2025).

Below, explore global trends and comparisons across gender, age, job level, work location and region for seven key workplace topics:

What percentage of employees are engaged globally?

20%

Twenty percent of employees globally are engaged, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Sixty-four percent of employees are not engaged, and 16% are actively disengaged.

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Global Employee Engagement Drops After Reaching Historic High

Year % Engaged
2009 12
2012 13
2013 14
2014 14
2015 15
2016 17
2018 19
2019 22
2020 20
2021 21
2022 23
2023 23
2024 21
2025 20

How does employee engagement differ by gender?

Gender % Engaged
Female employees 21%
Male employees 19%

How does employee engagement differ by age?

Age % Engaged
Younger than 35 19%
35 or older 21%

How does employee engagement differ by job level?

Job Level % Engaged
Managers 22%
Individual contributors 19%

How does employee engagement differ by work location?

Work Location % Engaged
Exclusively remote 30%
Hybrid 25%
On-site, remote-capable 24%
On-site, non-remote-capable 17%

Which region has the highest employee engagement?

Rank Region % Engaged
1 United States and Canada 31%
2 Latin America and the Caribbean 30%
3 Southeast Asia 25%
4 Post-Soviet Eurasia 25%
5 Australia and New Zealand 21%
6 South Asia 21%
7 Sub-Saharan Africa 19%
8 East Asia 18%
9 Middle East and North Africa 14%
10 Europe 12%

What percentage of employees are thriving globally?

34%

Thirty-four percent of employees globally are thriving, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Fifty-six percent of employees are struggling, and 9% are suffering.

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One-Third of Global Workers Are Thriving in Life

Year % Thriving
2009 24
2010 31
2011 29
2012 31
2013 30
2014 31
2015 30
2016 27
2017 27
2018 28
2019 30
2020 32
2021 33
2022 35
2023 34
2024 33
2025 34

How does employee life evaluation differ by gender?

Gender % Thriving
Female employees 37%
Male employees 33%

How does employee life evaluation differ by age?

Age % Thriving
Younger than 35 34%
35 or older 35%

How does employee life evaluation differ by job level?

Job Level % Thriving
Managers 40%
Individual contributors 32%

How does employee life evaluation differ by work location?

Work Location % Thriving
Exclusively remote 33%
Hybrid 45%
On-site, remote-capable 45%
On-site, non-remote-capable 32%

Which region has the highest employee life evaluation?

Rank Region % Thriving
1 Latin America and the Caribbean 56%
2 Australia and New Zealand 55%
3 United States and Canada 51%
4 Europe 49%
5 Southeast Asia 36%
6 Post-Soviet Eurasia 34%
7 East Asia 32%
8 Middle East and North Africa 26%
9 Sub-Saharan Africa 18%
10 South Asia 16%

How many employees experience significant daily stress?

40%

Forty percent of employees globally experienced stress a lot of the previous day, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 report.

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Daily Stress

Year % Stress
2009 31
2010 32
2011 34
2012 36
2013 37
2014 33
2015 39
2016 38
2017 39
2018 37
2019 38
2020 43
2021 44
2022 44
2023 41
2024 40
2025 40

How does daily stress differ by gender?

Gender % Experiencing Stress
Female employees 43%
Male employees 39%

How does daily stress differ by age?

Age % Experiencing Stress
Younger than 35 42%
35 or older 40%

How does daily stress differ by job level?

Job Level % Experiencing Stress
Managers 45%
Individual contributors 39%

How does daily stress differ by work location?

Work Location % Experiencing Stress
Exclusively remote 41%
Hybrid 46%
On-site, remote-capable 46%
On-site, non-remote-capable 39%

Which region has the highest daily stress?

Rank Region % Experiencing Stress
1 United States and Canada 50%
2 Australia and New Zealand 49%
3 Middle East and North Africa 48%
4 East Asia 46%
5 Sub-Saharan Africa 46%
6 Latin America and the Caribbean 43%
7 Europe 39%
8 South Asia 30%
9 Southeast Asia 25%
10 Post-Soviet Eurasia 21%

How many employees experience daily anger?

22%

Twenty-two percent of employees globally experienced anger a lot of the previous day, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report.

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Daily Anger

Year % Anger
2009 19
2010 18
2011 19
2012 19
2013 18
2014 16
2015 20
2016 19
2017 20
2018 21
2019 20
2020 24
2021 21
2022 21
2023 21
2024 21
2025 22

How does daily anger differ by gender?

Gender % Experiencing Anger
Female employees 22%
Male employees 22%

How does daily anger differ by age?

Age % Experiencing Anger
Younger than 35 23%
35 or older 22%

How does daily anger differ by job level?

Job Level % Experiencing Anger
Managers 25%
Individual contributors 21%

How does daily anger differ by work location?

Work Location % Experiencing Anger
Exclusively remote 25%
Hybrid 23%
On-site, remote-capable 22%
On-site, non-remote-capable 22%

Which region has the highest daily anger?

Rank Region % Experiencing Anger
1 South Asia 31%
2 Middle East and North Africa 30%
3 Sub-Saharan Africa 25%
4 East Asia 20%
5 Southeast Asia 19%
6 United States and Canada 18%
7 Europe 15%
8 Australia and New Zealand 14%
9 Post-Soviet Eurasia 14%
10 Latin America and the Caribbean 14%

How many employees experience daily sadness?

23%

Twenty-three percent of employees globally experienced sadness a lot of the previous day, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report.

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Daily Sadness

Year % Sadness
2009 16
2010 15
2011 15
2012 18
2013 18
2014 15
2015 18
2016 19
2017 20
2018 21
2019 21
2020 25
2021 23
2022 21
2023 22
2024 23
2025 23

How does daily sadness differ by gender?

Gender % Experiencing Sadness
Female employees 24%
Male employees 23%

How does daily sadness differ by age?

Age % Experiencing Sadness
Younger than 35 23%
35 or older 24%

How does daily sadness differ by job level?

Job Level % Experiencing Sadness
Managers 23%
Individual contributors 23%

How does daily sadness differ by work location?

Work Location % Experiencing Sadness
Exclusively remote 30%
Hybrid 24%
On-site, remote-capable 20%
On-site, non-remote-capable 22%

Which region has the highest daily sadness?

Rank Region % Experiencing Sadness
1 South Asia 36%
2 Sub-Saharan Africa 28%
3 Middle East and North Africa 26%
4 United States and Canada 22%
5 Southeast Asia 21%
6 Australia and New Zealand 21%
7 Post-Soviet Eurasia 19%
8 Latin America and the Caribbean 18%
9 Europe 17%
10 East Asia 17%

How many employees experience daily loneliness?

22%

Twenty-two percent of employees globally experienced loneliness a lot of the previous day, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report.

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Daily Loneliness

Year % Loneliness
2023 20
2024 22
2025 22

How does daily loneliness differ by gender?

Gender % Experiencing Loneliness
Female employees 21%
Male employees 22%

How does daily loneliness differ by age?

Age % Experiencing Loneliness
Younger than 35 23%
35 or older 21%

How does daily loneliness differ by job level?

Job Level % Experiencing Loneliness
Managers 23%
Individual contributors 21%

How does daily loneliness differ by work location?

Work Location % Experiencing Loneliness
Exclusively remote 24%
Hybrid 24%
On-site, remote-capable 18%
On-site, non-remote-capable 21%

Which region has the highest employee daily loneliness?

Rank Region % Experiencing Loneliness
1 South Asia 28%
2 Sub-Saharan Africa 28%
3 East Asia 23%
4 Middle East and North Africa 22%
5 Southeast Asia 19%
6 United States and Canada 19%
7 Post-Soviet Eurasia 16%
8 Australia and New Zealand 14%
9 Europe 13%
10 Latin America and the Caribbean 12%

Do employees think it's a good time to find a job?

52%

Fifty-two percent of employees globally say that now is a good time to find a job when thinking about the job situation in the city or area where they live, according to the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report.

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The Global Job Climate

Year % Good time
2009 29
2010 37
2011 41
2012 41
2013 42
2014 46
2015 45
2016 45
2017 50
2018 51
2019 55
2020 44
2021 45
2022 53
2023 54
2024 51
2025 52

How does job climate differ by gender?

Gender % Good Time to Find a Job
Female employees 52%
Male employees 52%

How does job climate differ by age?

Age % Good Time to Find a Job
Younger than 35 51%
35 or older 53%

How does job climate differ by job level?

Job Level % Good Time to Find a Job
Managers 57%
Individual contributors 49%

How does job climate differ by work location?

Work Location % Good Time to Find a Job
Exclusively remote 49%
Hybrid 56%
On-site, remote-capable 44%
On-site, non-remote-capable 52%

Which region has the most positive job climate perception?

Rank Region % Good Time to Find a Job
1 Southeast Asia 64%
2 Australia and New Zealand 60%
3 Latin America and the Caribbean 60%
4 East Asia 58%
5 Europe 57%
6 Post-Soviet Eurasia 57%
7 Sub-Saharan Africa 50%
8 South Asia 48%
9 United States and Canada 47%
10 Middle East and North Africa 36%

The primary data in this report come from the Gallup World Poll, through which Gallup has conducted surveys of the world’s adult population, using randomly selected samples, since 2005. The survey is typically administered annually face to face or by telephone, covering more than 160 countries and areas since its inception.

In addition to the World Poll data, Gallup collected extensive random samples of working populations in the United States (via web survey); these samples were added to the dataset for this report. 2024 data for China were collected using an opt-in web self-administered mode (computer-aided web interviewing, or CAWI) over two administrations of the survey during the course of the year.

The total number of global respondents included in the full trend of data for this report (2009 through 2025) is 5,754,327 (2,616,488 employed respondents); for the 2025 data, the total is 263,810 (141,444 employed) respondents. 2025 data included in this report were obtained from January to December 2025.

The target population of the World Poll is the entire civilian, noninstitutionalized, aged 15 and-older population. Gallup’s data in this report reflect the responses of adults aged 15 and older who were employed for any number of hours by an employer.

With rare exceptions, all samples are probability based and nationally representative. Gallup uses data weighting to:

  • minimize bias in survey-based estimates
  • ensure samples are nationally representative for each country or area
  • correct for unequal selection probability, nonresponse and overlap of landline and mobile phone users when using mobile phone and landline frames

Gallup also weights its final samples to match the national demographics of each country or area.

For global and regional percentage-point change, the data are rounded before calculating the difference between time periods to stay consistent with the trendlines shown by item. In 2025, Gallup began to report regional data based on data aggregated from three years of polling. Regional data reported prior to 2025 were based on that region's annual average.

Country-specific findings in “Appendix 1: Country/Territory by Region Data” are based on data aggregated from three years of polling. Percentage-point changes for countries and areas indicate the differences in percentage points when comparing the country’s average from 2022, 2023 and 2024 with the average from 2023, 2024 and 2025, with several countries’ data obtained in the early months of the following year and reported as part of the current year’s results. When shown, change data may sum to +/-1 pct. pt. due to rounding. Engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged percentages, as well as thriving, struggling and suffering percentages, may not sum to 100% due to rounding.

Global and regional engagement data were not collected in 2010 or 2011, therefore the 2011 datapoint counts only 2009; the 2012 datapoint counts only 2012; the 2013 datapoint counts 2012 and 2013; and the 2014 datapoint counts all three years: 2012, 2013 and 2014. Engagement data were also not collected in 2017.

Gallup typically surveys 1,000 individuals in each country or area using a standard set of core questions translated into the respective country’s major languages. In some countries, Gallup collects oversamples in major cities or areas of special interest. In a small number of countries, the sample size is fewer than 1,000 individuals. In this report, Gallup does not provide data (three-year aggregate) for any region or country with an aggregate n size of fewer than 300. However, results from countries or areas with a sample of any size during the 2025 World Poll collection year are included in regional and global results.

For results based on the total sample of employed adults globally, the margin of sampling error ranged from ±0.05 percentage points to ±0.08 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total sample of employed adults in each region, the margin of sampling error ranged from ±0.26 percentage points to ±2.37 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. For results based on the total sample of employed adults in each country, the margin of sampling error ranged from ±0.25 percentage points to ±7.07 percentage points at the 95% confidence level. All reported margins of sampling error include computed design effects for weighting.

Gallup is entirely responsible for the management, design and control of the Gallup World Poll. For more than 80 years, Gallup has been committed to the principle that accurately collecting and disseminating the opinions and aspirations of people around the globe is vital to understanding our world. Gallup’s mission is to provide information in an objective, reliable and scientifically grounded manner.

Gallup is not associated with any political orientation, party or advocacy group and does not accept partisan entities as clients. Any individual, institution or governmental agency may access the Gallup World Poll regardless of nationality. The identities of clients and all surveyed respondents remain confidential.

The World Poll monitors the issues that matter most to societies worldwide, such as personal safety, food and shelter, employment, wellbeing and confidence in national institutions. In addition to conducting our core polls, organizations worldwide turn to Gallup to conduct custom surveys using our rigorous research standards and scientifically proven methodologies to help them solve their most pressing problems.

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