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Have you ever considered how the quality of our time at work shapes the quality of our lives?
We spend an astounding 13 years—4,821 days—working. That’s more time than we dedicate to romance, exercise, holidays, and school combined.
But here’s the real question: how do we measure the quality of this significant chunk of our lives? Are we just watching the clock, disconnected from our tasks, or are we finding purpose and meaning in our work—and, by extension, in our lives?
I had the honor of speaking at Gallup’s launch event for the 2024 State of the Global Workplace report, where Gallup CEO Jon Clifton posed this thought-provoking question. This pressing issue deserves our attention, especially as newer Gallup data reveals a stark reality: employee engagement in the U.S. has reached its lowest point in a decade.
As we reflect on the issue of engagement, let's keep this question in mind: Are your employees just going through the motions at work, or are they connecting with something larger than themselves?
Engagement is about well-being
Engagement isn't just about productivity, but also the quality of our experiences. Employees actively disengaged at work often report lower well-being than unemployed people. They experience higher levels of stress, anger, worry, and loneliness, highlighting the employee disengagement crisis many organizations are facing today.
This highlights something crucial: job satisfaction deeply impacts our emotional and mental health. It's not just about individual happiness, though. The economic implications are enormous.
For HR leaders seeking actionable ways on how to improve employee engagement, addressing well-being is a foundational step.
The cost of low engagement is high
One thing that stands out in Gallup’s 2024 State of the Global Workplace report is that disengagement costs the economy $8.9 trillion, an astounding 9% of global GDP. It’s less surprising to read that 62% of the world’s working population struggles with engagement.
Employee engagement statistics consistently demonstrate the financial and emotional toll disengagement takes on organizations and individuals alike. Other findings indicate that:
- Only 23% of employees feel truly engaged at work
- 15% are actively disengaged, potentially undermining their colleagues and companies
- Young employees' well-being has taken a significant hit
- Just 34% of workers report thriving in their overall well-being
- Over half (52%) are either watching for or actively seeking new jobs
This continued decline in U.S. employee engagement, now at its lowest point in a decade, reinforces the urgency of this issue. Since 2020, about 8 million fewer employees report feeling engaged, with Gen Z seeing the steepest drops.
But there’s a silver lining. Engagement is a critical factor in life satisfaction and hope for the future. When we're connected to our work, we're more likely to feel optimistic about what lies ahead. Work can be intrinsic to a better life.
These numbers paint a clear picture: employee engagement isn't just a workplace issue—it's a global economic and well-being challenge that affects us all.
Evolving values have changed the workplace
It’s impossible to discuss employee engagement trends without recognizing how much the value proposition has been almost completely redefined over the past few years.
As work evolves—many people can work anywhere—employees have new leverage in seeking work that aligns with their values.
When talking to customers as Chief People Officer at Spring Health, I always find it useful to consider Daniel Pink’s intrinsic motivators framework, especially in regards to younger people entering the workforce.
Now more than ever, employees seek purpose, mastery, autonomy, meaning, and fulfillment in their work lives.
On a personal level, they are seeking support for the whole person. They don’t want to walk into work and feel like an interchangeable automaton, but want to feel seen, heard, humanized, and valued. This is key to the evolution of work.
Leadership and engagement go hand in hand
Imagine a CEO who scrutinizes employee engagement statistics as closely as financial statements. That's a leader who truly "gets it."
In today's workplace, employees are increasingly asking, does the C-suite genuinely care about our well-being? That’s what employers need to feel—as if they are part of something meaningful, a job where being fully engaged is one end of an arrangement in which mutual care is prioritized.
Recent Gallup data reveals that only 39% of U.S. employees feel someone at work cares about them as a person—a striking 8% drop since 2020. This decline sends a clear message to leaders: improving employee engagement starts with rebuilding trust and fostering genuine, human connections in the workplace.
This shift isn't going anywhere. It's a fundamental change in how we view work. Job seekers now prioritize organizations where leadership is deeply invested in people strategy.
When I was a clinician still seeing patients 15 years ago, I would have been surprised by the idea that employers should play a central role in their employees’ mental health. I'm amazed that such a significant shift has occurred in just a few years.
Mental health and well-being support is no longer a perk—it's a prerequisite. Companies without robust well-being strategies are left behind in the talent race.
Engagement is a systemic issue
While HR often leads the charge on engagement, the roots of disengagement run deeper. Think about those days when you feel de-energized at work. It's usually not just one thing, but a combination of factors:
- An inability to use your strengths
- Friction in getting things done
- Broken processes and cross-functional collaboration
- Difficult relationships
Let’s briefly focus on one engagement element that’s declined significantly in recent years. Clarity of expectation—knowing what work you are expected to do—is down 10 points in the U.S. since 2020. It can feel frustrating to be putting effort in every day, without understanding if the work you are doing is even what’s expected of you.
Improving employee engagement begins with addressing these systemic challenges, including communication and role clarity—and this can't be solved by HR alone. It requires a top-down approach, with C-suite support empowering HR leaders and managers to address processes, practices, and communication.
The key is recognizing that engagement isn't just an HR issue—it's a company-wide challenge that impacts every aspect of organizational success.
For sustainable solutions, look to culture
Momentary perks in the workplace can be great for employees, but burnout results from death by a thousand cuts, daily friction, the ensuing stress from that friction, and a lack of deep well-being support.
A CEO I used to work with would always say that culture is about how you feel on a Sunday night going to work the next morning.
Ask yourself, what is the daily experience like for employees? Addressing engagement requires long-term, sustainable change regarding the employee experience.
Managers are key drivers of culture
Regarding mental health, managers have a similar impact on employees as a spouse or partner. This is where you see a causal process in which leadership is so important.
When organizational leadership ensures that managers have the resources they need and are themselves supported and trained, they can better be engaged and set the tone for their teams.
Gallup has found that in best-practice organizations, three-fourths of managers are engaged, and 70% of the variance in team engagement is determined solely by the manager. But new data shows that only 31% of managers are engaged.
Engagement requires both individual and organizational approaches
At Spring Health, we have a twofold solution: SpringLife, which provides individual mental health support such as coaching, therapy, and medication management, and SpringWorks, which is focused on giving managers the support they need.
Managers need direction around navigating employee burnout, engagement, and mental health challenges, including:
- How to work through low team morale
- Navigating complex situations
- How to provide support for someone experiencing a mental health challenge
- Onsite manager support, such as real time advice for dealing with specific issues
When we talk to customers, we realize there is just not enough support for managers, which is reflected in the rate at which they feel burnt out.
Measuring engagement is about understanding thriving
As part of Spring Health’s Employee Experience strategy, we measure engagement through the lens of employee thriving. Our thriving framework is very particular. We measure how energized, empowered, and inspired people feel at work.
The way we think about our measuring engagement goals is to move from broad engagement surveys to specific measurement points of what we know people need to feel engaged, do their best work, be productive, and stay with their organization.
One of our mottos is “science will win,” which is why we incorporate research-based best practices into our surveys to get the best engagement data. Engagement doesn’t have to be an intangible problem, especially as it’s connected with well-being.
The path to engagement
There's no magic formula for employee engagement and well-being. Before taking on the Chief People Officer role at Spring Health, I had the same role at a financial technology company. What I did there was completely different from what I do now, but there are fundamentals that translate across industries.
Data is your compass. It can guide you to solutions that fit your culture and people. You don’t have to do what everyone else does—let your data lead the way.
Organizations that embrace this approach are reaping the rewards through higher retention rates and a more engaged workforce. It's a challenging journey, but the destination—a thriving, productive workplace—is well worth the effort.
Prioritize team morale to significantly raise employee well-being and engagement, and create a reimagined workplace where everyone thrives.
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