Employee engagement fell for the second time in 12 years, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report. The 2% drop – from 23% to 21% – matches the decline seen in 2020 during the Covid-19 lockdowns.
The fact that we’ve returned to an engagement level last seen at the height of the pandemic is concerning. That period was defined by stay-at-home orders, widespread uncertainty about health and employment, and unprecedented disruption. A dip in engagement at that time was understandable.
But how did organisations get it so wrong in 2024?
Manager engagement is driving the drop
Gallup’s 2025 report identifies one core cause: a sharp decline in manager engagement. No other employee group – not by gender, age or role – experienced as steep a fall.
Key stats from Gallup 2025:
- Manager engagement fell from 30% to 27%.
- Individual contributor engagement remained steady at 18%.
- Managers under 35 years old saw a 5% drop in engagement.
- Female manager engagement and wellbeing levels both fell by 7%.
- Older managers saw a 5% decline in wellbeing.
Managers caught in the middle
Over the past five years, businesses have faced constant upheaval – from high turnover and rapid restructuring to shrinking budgets and the rise of AI. Through all this, managers have been caught in the middle, juggling top-down pressure with frontline demands.
As Gallup notes: “Managers are handed an almost impossible task of making it all work in the real world.”
What happens next?
In light of the Gallup 2025 findings, HRZone asked leading voices in the HR community to reflect on the engagement crisis – and how organisations can respond.
“Stop expecting managers to do the impossible”
Blaire Palmer, Keynote speaker and author of “Punks in Suits – How to lead the workplace reformation”
“Managers, particularly middle managers, often have the impossible job of communicating and implementing unpalatable decisions from above, without the resources and leadership skills to create change. They are also first to be blamed when those decisions don’t get results.”
“So, it’s no surprise they feel increasingly disengaged and experience declining levels of wellbeing. Gallup’s 2025 report emphasises the need to improve manager training and development but I think the problem is greater than that. Stop expecting managers to do the impossible – hit tougher targets with fewer people, in less time. Either make decisions that can be realistically implemented with the resources available or involve managers in the problem-solving process so they can come up with solutions that will work on the ground.”
“You can achieve bold outcomes with fewer people but it requires creative solutions. You can’t solve problems the same way you did when you had more people and more money to throw around. Pushing information and decision-making authority down the organisation, plus providing training to managers so they can make good decisions and lead change means you can still get results for the business without your managers paying the price.”
“Sadness, stress and despair” among our collegues
Bruce Daisley, LinkedIn Top Voice on Work & Workplace Culture, 2x Sunday Times Bestseller, ex-tech firm VP
“The annual arrival of Gallup’s report always produces a lot of head scratching. Engagement levels that are so low that it should signal a national emergency are normally waved off by HR directors by the assertion that ‘our engagement is much higher than that’.”
“Here lies the challenge: everyone is measuring things differently. I tend to go with the Gallup levels as I think they capture the sense of sadness, stress and despair that we can witness in the eyes of our colleagues.”
“The success of AI shouldn’t come at the expense of humans.”
Yasmine Alani, Director of Transformation, Media Zoo
“It’s disappointing, but not entirely surprising, to see engagement slipping after years of slow progress. The common trend is that employees are feeling more disconnected than ever before, being caught between relentless change, the pressures of post-pandemic working, and organisations not truly investing in inclusion and belonging. Managers are often in the crunched middle: Overwhelmed and under-resourced. Organisations must invest in developing managers to equip them in building trust, coaching their teams, and learning how to create meaningful connection.”
“We’re seeing organisations ploughing money into trends like AI and automation, but the success of AI shouldn’t come at the expense of humans. Lasting success starts and ends with people. If we don’t shift focus back to culture and community at every level, we risk seeing these engagement numbers decline year on year, which has a real measurable impact on productivity and retention. Transformations of this complexity need conscious and intentional leadership.”
“We need to design management roles better, giving managers the time and space to manage.”
Idris Ashad, Head of People Asthma & Lung UK, Top 10 HR Most Influential Practitioner 2024
“HR must be part of the solution in helping line managers and supporting their engagement with managing. To start, as HR professionals, we need to design management roles better, giving managers the time and space to manage. We then need to develop in-house management training to show them how to manage within the organisation, coaching them through HR business partnering is a key part of their development and performance. Finally, discussing their development and career progression is also important for helping them feel engaged.”
