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Employee engagement statistics: 24 findings for 2026

The latest numbers, each with its report, year and a link to Gallup’s own page.

KraftyLab TeamUpdated 7 min read
Five coworkers around a sunlit conference table, smiling as one woman speaks and an older colleague listens, chin in hand.

These employee engagement statistics come from Gallup, which has tracked U.S. engagement since 2000 by sorting employees into engaged, not engaged and actively disengaged from their answers to 12 workplace questions. Below are 24 findings on engagement levels in the U.S. and worldwide, the manager effect, business outcomes and the wider employee experience, each with its source.

Employee engagement statistics: the U.S. in 2026

Gallup's latest U.S. reading, from surveys in February and May 2026, plus the long view.

Workplace engagement statistics around the world

From Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report, which covers 2025.

Engaged employees by work location, worldwide, 2025
Where they workEngaged
Exclusively remote30%
Hybrid25%
On-site, job could be done remotely24%
On-site, job can't be done remotely17%
Gallup, State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report, global data (2026)

The manager effect on engagement

Managers shape most of a team's engagement, and their own has dropped sharply since 2022.

A manager and an employee laughing during a walking one-on-one in a sunny, plant-lined office hallway, coffee cups in hand.

Engagement and business outcomes

Gallup's 2024 meta-analysis compares the most and least engaged business units.

Employee experience statistics: wellbeing and stress

How employees are doing beyond the job itself, from the same global survey.

For collaboration, team building and loneliness numbers, see our teamwork statistics.

What to do with these numbers

National averages set the context. What moves your team is closer to home.

  • Measure your own baseline. National averages are context; ask your team a few engagement questions before you change anything.
  • Start with clear expectations. Only about half of U.S. employees strongly agree they know what is expected of them, and that one is free to fix.
  • Invest in managers first. Managers drive most of the variance in team engagement, and their own engagement worldwide has fallen nine points since 2022.
  • Make time to connect. Regular team time gives people a reason to talk beyond tasks; pick something everyone can join.
  • Ask again in a quarter. Repeat the same questions so you compare like with like.

Our employee engagement survey questions give you a ready baseline, and the employee engagement calendar helps you plan the year. For team time, a live host can run virtual team games or virtual trivia on your call. For managers, Supercharge Your Squad is a live virtual workshop on building a team that doesn’t depend on them for everything.

A manager workshop and two hosted games, with today’s price.

Send your date and headcount and get a free quote. We reply within 24 hours.

Using these statistics in a deck or report

  • Say which group a number describes: U.S. employees, global employees or business units.
  • Give the period: Gallup's U.S. figures update during the year, its global report once a year.
  • The outcome figures compare top- and bottom-quartile units; they show association, not proof that engagement caused them.
  • Keep one source's numbers together: Gallup's indicator page showed 17% actively disengaged as of May 2026, its July article 18% for the first half.
  • Link the Gallup page itself, not a roundup that copied it.

Sources

  1. Gallup, Employee Engagement Remains Flat as AI Adoption Accelerates, 2026. www.gallup.com/workplace/712433/employee-engagement-remains-flat-adoption-accelerates.aspx
  2. Gallup, Global Indicator: Employee Engagement, 2026. www.gallup.com/394373/indicator-employee-engagement.aspx
  3. Gallup, State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report, global data, 2026. www.gallup.com/workplace/697904/state-of-the-global-workplace-global-data.aspx
  4. Gallup, State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report, 2026. www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
  5. Gallup, The Relationship Between Engagement at Work and Organizational Outcomes, Q12 Meta-Analysis, 11th edition, 2024. www.gallup.com/workplace/321725/gallup-q12-meta-analysis-report.aspx

Employee engagement statistics FAQ

What percentage of employees are engaged?

In the U.S., 31% of employees were engaged in the first half of 2026 and 18% were actively disengaged, according to Gallup. Worldwide, Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report puts engagement at 20% for 2025.

Is employee engagement going up or down?

Mostly flat to down. U.S. engagement peaked at 36% in 2020, fell to 31% in 2024 and held there through the first half of 2026. Worldwide it slipped from 23% in 2022 and 2023 to 20% in 2025. For signs and fixes at the team level, see our guide to disengaged employees.

How much do managers affect engagement?

Gallup finds that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in team engagement. Manager engagement worldwide fell nine points from 2022 to 22% in 2025.

Does employee engagement affect business results?

In Gallup's 2024 Q12 meta-analysis of 736 studies, business units in the top quartile of engagement had 23% higher profitability, 18% higher sales productivity and 78% lower absenteeism than bottom-quartile units. These are associations across units, not a guarantee for any one team.

How do I measure employee engagement on my team?

Use a short survey with the same questions each time, then repeat it every quarter. Our employee engagement survey questions guide has question sets you can copy.

Give your team time together

Hosted team games, trivia and manager workshops, run live. Send your date and headcount for a plan within 24 hours.

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