A new Gallup report gives a clear warning: when managers lose energy, the whole workplace can feel it. In Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025. Gallup says much of this recent drop came from managers. Manager engagement fell from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025, and the biggest one-year drop was from 27% to 22% between 2024 and 2025. (gallup.com)
Why are managers losing motivation? Gallup says the last few years have brought many shocks: retirements, worker turnover, team changes, smaller budgets, digital change, AI tools, and new requests for flexible work. Young managers under 35 and female managers saw especially large drops in engagement in 2024. Gallup also found that managers are often leading bigger teams. In the U.S., the average number of people reporting to a manager rose from 10.9 in 2024 to 12.1 in 2025. When managers have more people to support and still must do their own tasks, their engagement can fall. (gallup.com)
This matters because managers strongly shape team mood. Gallup says 70% of the difference in team engagement comes from the manager. When managers are engaged, employees are more likely to be engaged too. Good managers set goals, give useful feedback, and help workers find meaning in their jobs. Gallup also found that weekly meaningful feedback can nearly triple the share of engaged employees. So a tired manager can spread stress, but a strong manager can spread energy. (gallup.com)
The good news is that this problem can improve. Gallup says training helps a lot. In its 2025 findings, extreme manager disengagement was cut in half for managers who received training. People in manager training courses showed up to 22% higher engagement, and their teams saw engagement rise by up to 18%. Another Gallup study found better manager development was linked to lower turnover and stronger performance. In short, if companies want happier and more active workers, they should start by helping their managers first. (gallup.com)
