Can we afford to keep on talking about employee engagement and well-being in a world that feels more uncertain for businesses?
Yes, indeed! When employees are engaged, they are more productive at work. They are absent less and produce more. They build better customer relationships and close more sales. And they also have a higher personal quality of life. So there’s every reason to keep talking about employee engagement and well-being.
A study from Great Place to Work proofs, that workforce satisfaction directly impacts productivity. Countries with engaged workforces see higher labour productivity.
Decline in engagement corresponds to during COVID-19
Therefore, it is really regrettable that new data from Gallup show that employees feel less engaged. In 2024, the global percentage of highly engaged employees fell from 23% to 21%. Engagement has only fallen twice in the past 12 years, in 2020 and 2024. Last year’s two-point drop in engagement was equal to the decline during the year of COVID-19 lockdowns.
Zooming in on Europe
Zooming in on our continent, according to Gallup’s survey, things don’t look any better. Europe has the fewest engaged employees among all continents. Here, 13% report that they thrive at work and are engaged.
- 13% are highly engaged at work
- 73% are not particularly engaged
- 15% are actively disengaged
However, there are significant national differences in Europe.
This is how engagement is categorized
Gallup categorizes employees as engaged, not engaged or actively disengaged.
- Engaged employees are thriving at work. They are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace. They are psychological “owners,” drive performance and innovation, and move the organization forward.
- Not engaged employees are quietly quitting. They are psychologically unattached to their workand company. Because their engagement needs are not being fully met, they are putting time but not energy or passion into their work.
- Actively disengaged employees are loudlyquitting. They aren’t just unhappy at work. They are resentful that their needs are not being met and are acting out their unhappiness. Every day, theseworkers potentially undermine what their engaged coworkers accomplish.
Source: State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report, Gallup.
Trust-based leadership drives engagement
Everyone benefits from a high degree of engagement. So how do we get the engagement curve to rise again? The study from Great Place to Work shows that trust-based leadership drives superior workforce engagement and business outcomes.
Trust-based leadership skills according to Great Place to Work:
- Gives people autonomy and trusts them to do a good job
- Is approachable and easy to talk to
- Makes its expectations clear
- Responds to employee questions with honesty
- Recognises mistakes as a part of doing business
- Keeps people informed about important issues
- Work-life balance is actively encouraged
- Shows interest in employees as people
- Shows appreciation for good work and extra effort
- Is genuinely open to suggestions and ideas
- Involves people in decisions affecting their work
Create an engaging well-being culture
If you are facing challenges with a lack of engagement in your organization, you could benefit from creating a culture that promotes development and well-being through feedback and open dialogue.
Feedback can, for example, be given via surveys, where the entire organization can be heard: In a engagement survey, where you get the way around the most important aspects of engagement and well-being at work. Or via a leadership survey, where youcan kick-start the development of proximity and motivating leadership in your workplace.
Focus areas to address lack of engagement
Identify challenges
Gain an overview with engagement surveys and identify the challenges that hinder employee engagement and well-being at work.
Get feedback on leadership
Dive into leadership feedback and help your leaders grow. Consider using a leadership survey.
Increase your communication and dialogue
Create a culture of open dialogue in your organization, where management listens to feedback, and there is psychological safety to speak openly.
Involve
Involve employees in decisions affecting their work.
Cultivate a culture of recognition
Create a culture where the entire organization values each individual’s contribution and effort. Practice recognition.
Create sustainable working lives
Promote a healthy balance between work and private life, for example, through flexibility, breaks, and opportunities for deep work. Consider using a Worklife Balance survey to look deeper into eg. worklife balance.
Strengthen individual development
Provide space for both personal and professional development.
Set a clear direction
Share the purpose and direction for the workplace and the individual. Involve the organization in your well-being efforts and make it a shared mission to create an engaged workplace.
Kickstart employee engagement
with GAIS
Let GAIS help you to a good start with collecting employee feedback.With the GAIS engagement platform, you can involve and engage the entire organization in the work with well-being.
