A new report from Gallup reveals that employee engagement in the United States has reached 10-year low.
Work detachment is increasing across state lines for employees under the age of 35 in industries such as finance, technology, transportation, and professional services. Toward the end of 2024, the report showed the lowest level since 2014, with only 31% of employees being engaged compared to 17% of employees being actively disengaged.
Of approximately 79,000 U.S. employees surveyed throughout 2024, the
engaged employees’ percentage dropped two points from 2023, with close to 3.2 million employees feeling less engaged. The engagement of Generation Z employees declined by five points.“In Gallup’s trend dating back to 2000, employee engagement peaked in 2020, at 36%, following a decade of steady growth, but it has generally trended downward since then,” said Jim Harter, Gallup’s chief scientist for workplace management and well-being.
Among the 12 engagement elements studied, there were alarming drops in
areas of main concern, like work expectancy. Only 46% of employees had a clear sense of what is expected of them in the workplace, which is a massive drop from 56% in March 2020. Thirty-nine percent actually felt someone at work cares about them in comparison to 47% five years ago. Lastly, compared to 36% in 2020, only 30% felt someone at work encouraged their development.Even managers are feeling separated: only 31% admitted to being actively engaged.
The
numbers have set an alarm off throughout corporations as such research will make it harder for C-Suite level executives looking to retain the right talent for certain roles, but Gallup offered some strategies.The firm encourages companies to specify the culture and purpose of a role. Leaders should define what the team culture looks like and work with employees to align with organizational goals. In addition to training managers to heighten strong relationships with team members, it’s also recommended that executives invest in employee engagement by hiring managers who can inspire teams.
In times when productivity is low, employees want to feel seen and safe, with the result being better results in the workplace.
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