U.S. Employee Engagement Below 30% for First Time in 15 Years

U.S. employee engagement fell to 29% in the third quarter of 2026, its lowest level since 2011 and down two percentage points from the previous quarter. The share of actively disengaged employees rose from 17% to 18%, while 53% were not engaged.

When Gallup began tracking employee engagement in 2000, 26% of U.S. employees were engaged. That figure remained between 26% and 30% through 2013, then climbed to a peak of 36% in 2020. Since then, engagement has declined, falling to 31% in 2024 and remaining at that level through the first half of 2026.

The latest decline was sharpest among remote and hybrid employees, particularly those in organizations that have adopted artificial intelligence. Employees also reported less clarity about what is expected of them at work and were less likely to feel that someone at work cares about them as a person. These findings raise questions about whether communication and manager support are keeping pace with AI integration.

Each percentage point in engagement represents approximately 1.6 million U.S. employees. The Q3 decline is equivalent to about 3.2 million fewer engaged workers, bringing the total decrease since 2020 to approximately 11 million.

Employee engagement is linked to important organizational outcomes, including productivity, customer service, quality, safety and profitability. Engaged employees are more likely to put in additional effort to achieve organizational goals, while those who are not engaged or are actively disengaged are psychologically disconnected from their work and employer.

Clarity of Expectations and Feeling Cared About Decline

Employee engagement fell in Q3 2026, reflecting lower employee ratings of two aspects of their work experiences: knowing what’s expected of them and feeling cared about as a person.

In the first two quarters of 2026, 49% of employees strongly agreed that they knew what was expected of them at work, up two points from the 2025 average. In Q3, that figure fell three points to 46%, matching the 2024 yearly average low for this item and standing 10 points below its high point of 61% in 2015.

The percentage who strongly agreed that their supervisor or someone at work cares about them as a person fell from 40% in the first half of 2026 to 37% in Q3, well below the peak of 47% in March 2020. These two measures had already registered the largest five-year declines in Gallup's analysis of 2025 engagement trends. Both fell further in the latest quarter.

Engagement Declines Are Sharpest Among Remote and Hybrid Employees

The Q3 engagement decline was most pronounced among workers in remote-capable jobs, particularly those in fully remote or hybrid work arrangements. Engagement fell five points among fully remote employees and two points among hybrid employees, compared with approximately one point among on-site employees and those in jobs that cannot be performed remotely.

The declines among workers in remote-capable jobs, hybrid and exclusively remote employees exceeded the margin of error, while changes among on-site employees and those whose jobs cannot be performed remotely did not.

Gallup’s earlier research found that from 2020 to 2023, clarity of expectations declined about twice as much among hybrid and fully remote employees as among on-site employees whose jobs could be done remotely. The Q3 findings add to concerns about how well organizations communicate expectations and maintain employee connections across different work arrangements.

Since 2020, hybrid and fully remote employees have experienced larger declines in clarity of expectations than on-site employees in remote-capable jobs. These findings raise the possibility that physical distance can contribute to psychological distance between employees and their organizations, particularly as companies navigate the use of AI at work.

AI Engagement Advantage Narrows Among Remote and Hybrid Employees

Gallup's July analysis found that employee engagement was six points higher in organizations that had adopted AI, 15 points higher in organizations that communicated a clear AI plan and 18 points higher in organizations where managers actively supported AI use at work. When frequent AI use, a clear plan and manager support were all present, engagement reached 53%.

By Q3, however, the engagement advantage associated with AI integration had narrowed considerably among remote and hybrid employees.

In Q2, engagement among exclusively remote employees in AI-integrated organizations was five points higher than among their counterparts in other organizations, while hybrid employees had an eight-point advantage. By Q3, those differences had narrowed to just two points. Among on-site workers, the advantage remained, at about four to five points.

The Role of Leaders and Managers in AI Integration

The Q3 findings reinforce the need for clear expectations, effective communication and manager support as organizations adopt AI. Leaders should focus on three priorities:

• Clarify AI expectations by role. Employees need to understand how AI applies to their work, when they should use it and how their organization will evaluate their performance as AI changes their responsibilities.
• Equip managers to support AI use, particularly those leading hybrid and remote employees. Gallup's research shows that active manager support has the strongest relationship with engagement among the AI-related factors studied. Managers translate organizational plans into clear expectations and discuss how changes affect employees’ daily work. This is especially important for hybrid and remote employees, who may have fewer opportunities for informal, in-person communication.
• Track AI's impact alongside employee engagement. Measure how employees use AI and whether it is improving productivity, efficiency and creative problem-solving. Share examples of effective AI use to show employees how they can apply the technology in their own work.

The Bottom Line

U.S. employee engagement has fallen to its lowest level in 15 years, with particularly large declines among hybrid and remote employees in organizations that have adopted AI.

At the same time, fewer employees report clear expectations or feel that someone at work cares about them. The pattern suggests that AI adoption may be outpacing the communication and managerial support needed to make it effective.