Employee engagement is the share of people who are involved in and enthusiastic about their work. The latest data shows it falling, both worldwide and in the U.S., and the drop is sharpest among managers.
Most figures below come from Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, its U.S. engagement tracking and its Q12 meta-analysis. Each one links to the original source with the year it was published. Last checked: October 2026.
Key engagement statistics at a glance
- Only 20% of employees worldwide are engaged at work (Gallup, 2025 data).
- 31% of U.S. employees are engaged, down from a 36% peak in 2020 (Gallup).
- Manager engagement dropped from 27% to 22% in one year (Gallup).
- Teams in the top quarter for engagement are 23% more profitable (Gallup).
- Only 22% of employees say they get the right amount of recognition (Gallup and Workhuman).
Last checked: October 2026. Every figure below links to the original report.
32 Employee Engagement Statistics for 2026
Engagement Levels in 2025 and 2026
- Global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, down from 21% in 2024. (Gallup, 2026)
- Worldwide, 64% of employees are not engaged and 16% are actively disengaged. (Gallup, 2026)
- In the first half of 2026, 31% of U.S. employees were engaged and 18% were actively disengaged. (Gallup, 2026)
- The U.S. and Canada had the highest engagement of any region in 2025, at 31%; Europe was at 12%. (Gallup, 2026)
- U.S. engagement peaked at 36% in 2020; today’s level means roughly 8 million fewer engaged U.S. employees. (Gallup, 2026)
- From 2020 to 2025, U.S. engagement fell 8 points among Gen Z and younger millennials and 9 points among older millennials, while baby boomers held steady. (Gallup, 2026)
Managers and Feedback
- Global manager engagement fell to 22% in 2025, down from 27% in 2024. (Gallup, 2026)
- Managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement. (Gallup, 2026)
- 80% of employees who received meaningful feedback in the past week are fully engaged. (Gallup, 2021)
- U.S. employees whose manager actively supports their team’s AI use are 48% engaged, versus 30% without that support. (Gallup, 2026)
- Only 15% of employees say their manager helped them build a career plan in the past six months. (LinkedIn Learning, 2025)
Business Impact of Engagement
- Business units in the top quartile of engagement are 23% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile. (Gallup, 2024)
- Top-quartile units show 18% higher sales productivity and 14% higher production productivity. (Gallup, 2024)
- Top-quartile units have 78% lower absenteeism. (Gallup, 2024)
- Top-quartile units have 51% lower turnover in low-turnover organizations and 21% lower turnover in high-turnover organizations. (Gallup, 2024)
- Top-quartile units have 63% fewer safety incidents. (Gallup, 2024)
- Top-quartile units see 10% higher customer loyalty and engagement. (Gallup, 2024)
The Cost of Low Engagement
- Low engagement cost the global economy an estimated $10 trillion in lost productivity in 2025, about 9% of global GDP. (Gallup, 2026)
- Low engagement costs the U.S. economy an estimated $2 trillion a year in lost productivity. (Gallup, 2026)
Recognition
- Only 22% of employees say they get the right amount of recognition for their work. (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024)
- Well-recognized employees were 45% less likely to have left their organization two years later. (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024)
- Employees whose recognition meets at least four quality pillars are nine times as likely to be engaged as those whose recognition meets none. (Gallup and Workhuman, 2024)
Flexible and Hybrid Work
- Among remote-capable U.S. employees, 37% of fully remote workers are engaged, compared with 34% of hybrid and 29% of on-site workers (May 2026). (Gallup, 2026)
- 52% of remote-capable U.S. employees work hybrid, 26% fully remote and 22% on-site (May 2026). (Gallup, 2026)
- 61% of remote-capable U.S. employees prefer hybrid work, 33% prefer fully remote and only 6% prefer on-site (November 2025). (Gallup, 2025)
- 40% of U.S. hybrid and remote workers would start looking for a new job if their employer stopped allowing flexible work. (Owl Labs, 2025)
Well-Being and Stress
- 34% of employees worldwide were thriving in their lives in 2025. (Gallup, 2026)
- 40% of employees worldwide experienced a lot of stress the previous day, and 22% experienced a lot of loneliness. (Gallup, 2026)
- In the U.S. and Canada, 50% of employees reported daily stress in 2025. (Gallup, 2026)
- In the UK four-day week pilot, 71% of employees reported lower burnout, and 56 of 61 companies kept the policy afterward. (Autonomy and 4 Day Week Global, 2023)
Retention and Growth
- 51% of U.S. employees are actively looking for or watching for new job openings. (Gallup, 2025)
- 88% of organizations are concerned about retention, and providing learning opportunities is their top retention strategy. (LinkedIn Learning, 2025)
What These Numbers Mean for HR Teams
Engagement is mostly built, or lost, by managers. With manager engagement falling fastest, three steps matter most:
- Support your managers first. Train them to hold short, regular check-ins and to give specific feedback.
- Make recognition frequent and specific. Most employees say they don’t get enough of it.
- Measure, then act. Run short pulse surveys, share what you learned and fix one or two things at a time.
Engagement also starts on day one. See our employee onboarding statistics for what happens in a new hire’s first 90 days.
Employee Engagement Statistics: FAQ
Globally, 20% of employees were engaged in 2025, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report. In the U.S., 31% were engaged in the first half of 2026.
Down. Global engagement fell from 21% in 2024 to 20% in 2025, and U.S. engagement is below its 2020 peak of 36%. Manager engagement fell from 27% to 22% in one year.
Gallup estimates low engagement cost the global economy about $10 trillion in lost productivity in 2025, roughly 9% of global GDP, and about $2 trillion a year in the U.S.
We last checked every figure in October 2026 and link each one to its original source, with the year it was published.
