A new global report shows fewer people feel connected to their jobs, their leaders, or their own lives, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report.
The report says global employee engagement dropped to 21% last year, costing the world economy a staggering $438 billion in lost productivity.
The biggest red flag in the report shows that engagement among managers fell more sharply than any other group, dropping from 30% to 27%, the report says. For younger managers under 35, the drop was even steeper. Female managers also saw a significant seven-point decline. The data shows managers are disengaged, their teams follow suit, which can cripple performance and productivity, the report says.
Gallup CEO Jon Clifton warned that this decline is happening at the worst possible time — just as artificial intelligence begins reshaping every industry.
“We stand at the edge of a new era of work,” Clifton wrote in the report. “If mishandled, AI could sever the human bonds that keep teams thriving.”
The report also shows how employees feel about their jobs strongly correlates with how they feel about their lives. Life satisfaction, too, is trending downward — with only 33% of workers globally saying they are “thriving,” the report says.
Gallup outlines three solutions to stop this slip: Give managers the training they need, teach them how to coach and develop their teams and support their long-term wellbeing. The data shows that organizations that invest in these specific areas see significantly higher productivity and lower turnover, the report says.
The report warns that while disengagement is already costing the global economy billions, the opportunity is just as massive. If global employee engagement could reach just 70%, Gallup estimates the world could gain $9.6 trillion in productivity — the equivalent of a 9% bump in global GDP.
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Kaylee Remington is a trending news and metro reporter for cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer. Read her work online.