Negative feelings about work continue to grow, especially for managers

The State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report from Gallup frames a stark warning to business leaders and policymakers: people around the world are becoming increasingly disengaged from work at a time when technological change is demanding more from them than ever before. As artificial intelligence (AI) accelerates across industries, transforming everything from operations to communication, the human foundations of the workplace—employee engagement and wellbeing—are showing signs of deep strain.

According to the report, only 21 percent of employees worldwide said they felt “engaged” in what they do last year, a sharp two-percentage-point annual drop. This marks one of only two such falls in the past 12 years—the other being during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. In addition, the proportion of actively disengaged employees, those who are not only unhappy at work but potentially undermining their organisations, rose to 17 percent.

The root cause of this trend, Gallup argues, lies in the experiences of managers. In 2024, global manager engagement dropped from 30 percent to 27 percent. Particularly affected were young managers under the age of 35, who saw a five-point decline in engagement, and female managers, whose engagement plummeted by seven points.

The report describes the modern manager’s reality as one of “psychological pressure”, dealing with reduced resources, organisational instability, and an increasingly dispersed workforce. Managers are being asked to reconcile conflicting demands from leadership and employees, all while adapting to new technologies like AI and maintaining team cohesion in hybrid and remote work settings.

A collapse in wellbeing

Alongside falling engagement, employee wellbeing is also in decline. Gallup uses its annual “life evaluation” question—where employees rank their lives on a scale from zero (worst possible) to ten (best possible)—to assess overall wellbeing. The percentage of workers who describe their lives as “thriving” dropped to 33 percent in 2024, a one-point decrease that continues a downward trend.

The steepest declines in wellbeing were seen among managers. Older managers experienced a five-percentage-point drop in life satisfaction, while female managers saw a seven-point fall. These figures are especially concerning given the crucial role managers play in influencing team morale and organisational culture.

In regions like the United States and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand, evaluations of wellbeing have fallen precipitously. Housing affordability, inflation, and rising costs of living are cited as likely contributors, although the report argues that work remains a key factor in how people perceive their quality of life.

Employees who are engaged at work are significantly more likely to report that they are thriving overall. In fact, half of engaged employees say they are thriving, compared to just one-third of those who are not engaged. Furthermore, engaged workers are less likely to experience daily stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness—emotions that are on the rise globally.

Stress levels remain stubbornly high, with 40 percent of global employees reporting feeling stress during much of the previous day. Loneliness, often exacerbated by remote work, has also become more prevalent, with 22 percent of workers reporting frequent feelings of isolation—up two points from 2023.

A managerial tipping point

Perhaps the most urgent finding in Gallup’s 2025 report is the degree to which manager engagement affects overall organisational performance. Over two thirds (70 percent) of team engagement can be attributed to the manager. In other words, if managers are disengaged, their teams are likely to follow suit.

The report shares testimonials from workers around the world, many of whom credit their best work experiences to supportive, inspiring managers. Conversely, it is also clear that poor management—or inconsistent leadership—leads employees to question their place within an organisation.

Unfortunately, too few managers say they are receiving the training and support they need. Less than half of the world’s managers (44 percent) say they have received any kind of formal management training. Gallup notes that basic role training alone can halve the percentage of managers who are actively disengaged. Yet global investment in manager development has declined in recent years.

Gallup estimates that lost productivity resulting from disengagement cost the global economy US$438 billion in 2024. However, the report also identifies a massive opportunity: if organisations around the world were to achieve best-practice engagement levels (around 70 percent), this could add up to US$9.6 trillion in productivity—roughly equivalent to 9 percent of global GDP.

Gallup outlines three clear strategies that leaders can adopt to reverse current trends and create a more engaged, productive, and resilient workforce.

First, organisations should ensure all managers receive fundamental training to reduce extreme disengagement. Second, they should invest in coaching programmes to help managers become more effective in developing their teams. Third, they must support ongoing development and wellbeing initiatives to improve managers’ own life satisfaction and performance.

According to Gallup’s findings, when managers receive training and also have someone who encourages their development, their likelihood of thriving jumps from 28 percent to 50 percent. These investments in human capital, while modest in cost, offer potentially transformative returns.

The threat and opportunity of AI

The 2025 report closes with a powerful message: the world is standing at the edge of a new era of work. AI, while promising unparalleled efficiencies, also risks severing the human connections that underpin great teams—unless organisations actively foster those connections.

“Let this report be your road map—and a call to action—as you navigate the opportunities and challenges ahead,” writes Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup. He urges leaders not just to adapt to AI, but to use it as a tool to empower, engage and uplift the human workforce.

According to the report, the question is no longer whether AI will transform work—it already is. The question is whether leaders will rise to the occasion and create workplaces that help people thrive in the midst of it. Investing in managers, engaging employees, and promoting wellbeing are no longer just ‘nice to have’ strategies—they are essential for economic resilience, talent retention, and competitive advantage in a rapidly changing world.

If leaders fail to act, Gallup warns, the current downward spiral in engagement and wellbeing will not only continue—it will deepen. But if they embrace the challenge with intention and care, the next chapter of work could be not one of decline, but of transformation and shared prosperity.