30 Employee Engagement Statistics to Know in 2026

Employee engagement is a term that expresses the emotional commitment of employees towards their work, teams, and the organization’s targets. In modern offices, engagement is no longer a synonym for job satisfaction. 

Employees have started working beyond making a living. Now, they expect organizations to invest in keeping them motivated, supported, and connected to their roles. Moreover, it has become even more essential for companies with diverse teams to monitor employee engagement. 

This post highlights some of the latest employee engagement statistics that every decision-maker should be aware of in 2026.

Global Employee Engagement Trends

• In 2024, the global percentage of engaged employees decreased to 21% from 23%. Over the last 12 years, this is the second time engagement levels have declined, following a similar decline in 2020.
• The decline in global employee engagement in 2024 resulted in a loss of approximately $438 billion in productivity for the world's economy.
• In the case of 100% employee engagement worldwide, global productivity could increase by $9.6 trillion, equivalent to a 9% rise in global GDP.

Employee Engagement in the U.S.

• In 2024, the engagement of the U.S. workforce reached its lowest point in ten years, with only 31% of staff declaring themselves engaged in their work. 
• Almost half of the American workers (47%) consider the chance for career progression to be one of the significant factors affecting their job satisfaction and engagement.

Manager Engagement and Leadership Impact

• Among the various groups, managers have experienced the most significant decline in engagement. The overall engagement of managers has decreased from 30% to 27%, indicating growing pressure on leaders to manage their teams effectively.
• Furthermore, the engagement of managers who are 35 years or younger has declined even more, falling by 5% points.
• The engagement level of female managers has dropped more severely, with 7% points decrease measured.
• However, managers who receive training in best practices for leadership are performing significantly better. Management and team engagement go up, and management effectiveness measures improve by 20% to 28%.

Business Impact of High Employee Engagement

The comparison between the top and bottom quartiles of engagement teams reveals a clear performance gap. Gallup’s discoveries consistently show that highly engaged teams deliver the best business results across virtually all metrics.

The companies with engaged workers get:

• 10% more loyal and engaged customers
• 18% more productive employees when sales performance is the measure
• 14% more productive workers as per the production data and evaluations
• 23% more wealth
• 70% happier workers
• 22% more actively participating employees throughout the organization

The highly engaged workers also mean a great deal less risk and cost:

• 78% less absenteeism
• 21% less turnover in organizations with high turnover rates
• 51% less turnover in organizations with low turnover rates
• 28% less theft
• 63% fewer safety incidents and accidents
• 32% fewer quality defects

Companies that can maintain an employee engagement level of 70% or higher experience a significant transformation, with measurable improvements in profitability and growth.

On the contrary, low-engagement teams may have 43% higher turnover rates as compared to those with strong engagement.

Recognition, Feedback, and Workload as Engagement Drivers

• Around 82% of employees believe that work recognition has a positive impact on their engagement at the workplace. 
• Performance feedback of any kind, whether "to" or "from" staff, has a five times higher engagement rate among those receiving it than those who are not. 
• Around 57% of HR representatives report that recognition among peers has led to noticeable increases in employee engagement. 
• 89% of HR leaders believe that the continuous feedback process, combined with clear communication of staff expectations, is one of the most effective methods for improving employee engagement. 
• Employees who are most satisfied with their recognition are 17 times more likely to see a long-term future with the company. 
• Only 25% of the employees believe they are fully engaged and appreciated at their jobs. 
• Only 11% of HR leaders strongly agree that their organizations successfully follow through on employees' feedback, highlighting a huge execution gap. 
• 50% of employees say that benefits, such as good communication, a predictable schedule, and flexible hours, influence their employment choice. 
• Almost 70% of employees indicate that they invest more than expected, which may lead to disengagement and burnout.

Employee Wellbeing, Mental Health, and Engagement

One-third of employees don’t feel satisfied with the workplace mental health support they receive and expect more from their employers. 

In fact, according to the 2023 Work in America survey, 55% of employees are concerned about suffering from burnout, as they report being unable to work at their full potential due to emotional exhaustion and a lack of motivation. 

• Almost 70% of workers who report their mental state as worsening also indicate that their level of engagement is declining. 
• When evaluated against the general population of workers, employees who are consistently cared for and treated well by their employers will be 92% more engaged, 65% more loyal, and 56% more productive at work. 
• 89% of employees working in organizations with wellness programs report feeling satisfied and engaged in their roles. 
• A survey conducted shows that 61%–68% of employees in the 20- to 30-year age group have good mental health when they are satisfied with recognition and personal development at work, compared to only 41%–45% when they are dissatisfied. 
• Despite the increased investment, only a minority (41%) of the participating companies think their prosperity programs are actually yielding significant benefits. 
• One of the main reasons why employees associated with higher engagement levels feel more fairly paid is that they are 2.5 times more likely to be categorized as such. At the same time, only 17% of workers claim that their salaries are equal to their input. 
• According to the report, 43% of Millennials have experienced a decline in engagement over the past few days, compared to 38% of Gen X and 34% of Baby Boomers.

Conclusion

These employee engagement statistics prove that tracking this metric is no longer an option but a direct factor that helps determine retention, productivity, and even the overall company culture.

Companies that are unable to monitor engagement levels will inadvertently overlook and ignore the issues of burnout and disengagement, which can lead to increased turnover and decreased performance.

Looking forward, the future of employee engagement will depend on supportive leadership, meaningful development and growth opportunities, consistent insights, and a substantial focus on employee wellbeing to build motivated, resilient, and future-ready teams.

FAQs

1. What causes low engagement at work?

Some of the primary reasons for low engagement include inadequate well-being support, poor communication, excessive workload, a lack of appreciation, unclear expectations, restricted growth opportunities, and ineffective leadership.

2. How do you measure employee engagement?

Employee engagement can be assessed through participation levels, retention trends, performance data, feedback tools, surveys, and consistent insights into employees’ feelings, collaboration, and skills growth. 

3. What are examples of high-impact engagement strategies?

High-impact strategies include coaching for managers, substantial recognition, consistent feedback, adaptable work policies, capacity-based education, clear career paths, and well-being campaigns aligned with employee needs.