Gallup Has Spoken: Trends to Watch in Their “State of the Global Workplace: 2024” Report

It’s that time of the year again: Gallup has released its annual “State of the Global Workplace” report, a publication that’s designed to capture the collective global voice of employees and lay out the latest trends and currents affecting the workplace worldwide, including factors like engagement levels, the role of management, and economic stability. This year, the report has a special focus on employee mental health and wellbeing, with attention to how the global workforce is adapting to professional life in the digital era. In this article, we’ll break down the report and give you a quick run-down of their latest findings, so you can take them into consideration when making your own business decisions.

Global results: Employee engagement remains stable at 23%, with major differences between regions.

The global results are in: engagement has remained relatively stable at 23%, with 62% not engaged, and 15% actively disengaged. The results varied considerably based on location. At the top of the list was the United States and Canada, with 33% of workers engaged, and at the bottom was Europe, with 13%.

The benefits of engagement were also well-noted. Businesses with highly-engaged employees experienced a host of benefits, including a 78% decrease in absenteeism, coupled with a 23% increase in profitability and a 68% increase in overall wellbeing.

The big takeaway? It is definitely in the interest of companies worldwide to increase employee engagement, and there is ample room for improvement.

That’s the big picture. But in the following sections, we’ll list the specific insights.

Employee Mental Health: A Global Snapshot

Perhaps the biggest focus in this year’s report is on mental health and employee wellbeing. With the increased adoption of remote work and hybrid office scenarios, many of the familiar office patterns—ones that existed for decades, if not centuries—have changed, and not surprisingly, this has had an effect on the emotional states of the global workforce. Specifically:

Prevalence of Loneliness: According to the Gallup report, 20% of the world’s employees experience daily loneliness, particularly higher among remote workers. Being separated from co-workers and removed from office environments has had a tangible impact.

Wellbeing Among Younger Employees: The report remarks on a notable decline in wellbeing among employees under 35; the percentage that experienced feelings of loneliness was significantly higher among younger employees.

Impact of Engagement on Life Experiences: The report shows, via its “Life Evaluation Index,” a clear correlation between employee engagement and overall life satisfaction, emphasizing that disengaged employees often experience higher levels of negative emotions. In short: generally satisfied employees tend to be involved with company life, and vice-versa.

The Role of Economics and Policy in Worker Wellbeing

Wellbeing is linked to more than just engagement, however. And as the report clearly shows, the health of the job market and overall economy has a clear impact on the engagement levels of employees worldwide. For example:

Job Market Conditions: Better job markets correlate with lower active disengagement among employees. According to the report, “We asked respondents if they felt it was a good time to find a job in their local job market. Their responses track consistently with official unemployment statistics. Our analysis finds that better job markets are associated with lower active disengagement.”

Labor Protections: There is also clearly a relationship between labor laws and employee life evaluations, with a correlation between specific labor rights like fair wages and safety that contribute to better wellbeing. For example, using the “Labour Rights Index,” the study shows that while 38% of engaged workers feel stress in countries at the lower half of the index, only 29% percent feel stress on the upper half.

Engagement and Future Outlook: Independent of labor laws, engaged employees show higher optimism about their future, suggesting the critical role of engagement in overall life satisfaction. The report’s “Life Evaluation Index” included considerations of “positive views of the next five years” among employees, and it found a direct correlation between a positive future outlook, and high engagement levels. 50% of engaged employees were “Thriving” while only 17% of actively disengaged employees could be categorized as such.

The Role of the Manager in Worker Wellbeing and Organizational Performance

Generally speaking, company culture trickles downward. That is to say, the behaviors and attitudes of those in positions of leadership tend to be adopted by the rest of the company, becoming ingrained across the organization. This pattern is also reflected in engagement. Good management generates employee engagement, which is also linked to more general metrics like satisfaction and performance. Here are a few of the findings in the Gallup report:

Managerial Influence: Managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement, indicating their pivotal role in employee wellbeing.

Negative Experiences of Managers: Despite higher engagement levels, managers report more negative daily emotions compared to non-managers, highlighting the need for support for managerial roles.

Impact of Engaged Managers: Engaged managers lead to higher engagement among their teams, improving organizational outcomes significantly.

Organizational Outcomes of High Engagement

Closely linked to the latest global engagement trends is their real-world impact. And Gallup summarizes the specific effects that increases and decreases in engagement are having on companies around the world. Generally speaking, the correlations are fairly direct: high engagement boosts metrics most companies would see as positive, and low engagement has the opposite effect. For example:

Economic Impact: Low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion annually.

Productivity and Wellbeing: High engagement correlates with increased productivity, profitability, and reduced turnover and safety incidents. Companies with engaged employees see a 23% increase in profitability, and a 68% increase in wellbeing. They see a 51% decrease in turnover and a 63% decrease in safety incidents.

Strategies for Improvement: Gallup recommends that organizations improve engagement and wellbeing through effective management practices and organizational-level initiatives. One of the biggest findings in the report was the general increase in stress, and strategies are needed on a macro and micro scale to combat it. To quote the United Nations Human Development Programme: “And further still, people’s mental wellbeing has been worsening. In the last 10 years, the number of people expressing stress, sadness, anxiety, anger or worry has been on the rise, reaching its highest levels since the Gallup surveys began.”

Conclusion: Boosting engagement means addressing the specific needs of today’s workforce.

The Gallup “State of the Global Workplace: 2024” report may be long in terms of content, but its findings are concise and clear. Stress and mental health in general have become a major issue, with changes in office culture and work scenarios contributing to enhanced feelings of loneliness, stress, and isolation. However, the right steps regarding strong management, economic security, and work-life balance can contribute toward addressing these issues and increasing employee engagement.

If one thing is clear, it is that there is a direct correlation between the wellbeing of employees and the wellbeing of a company, and employee engagement is an indicator of that fact. The report can be seen as a call to action, for leaders to implement effective management practices and create supportive work environments that address mental health, on a global scale.

If employee engagement and a better employee experience are priorities at your organization, and you think there’s room for strategic improvement, you might want to consider Sociabble. Our platform is designed to address the very issues discussed in the report, and enhance employee engagement through strong communication, positive reinforcement, and employee recognition. We’ve already partnered with global leaders like Coca-Cola CCEP, L’Occitane en Provence, and AXA, and we’d love to discuss ways we can work together with your company as well.

*References

Gallup 2024 Report, State of the Global Workplace: The Voice of the World’s Employees