written by In 2023, global employee engagement stagnated, while wellbeing declined, according to the latest Gallup study, which aimed to analyze the current state of employees’ mental health and wellbeing worldwide. Gallup estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy $8.9 trillion, or 9% of global GDP.
The Workplace – A Factor in Life and Daily Emotions
20% of the world’s employees face loneliness on a daily basis. Employees working from home report significantly higher levels of loneliness, 9% higher than those working entirely on-site. The Gallup study’s initiators analyzed the relationship between social and community ties and mortality rates over a 9-year period. Social isolation and chronic loneliness can have devastating effects on both physical and mental health. The mortality risk for people who lacked connection to their community was twice as high as for those with an active social life.
Not all mental health problems are work-related, but work is nonetheless a key factor in assessing the quality of life and daily emotions. Employees who dislike their job tend to experience higher levels of daily stress and worry, as well as other negative emotions. Globally, employee wellbeing decreased in 2023, from 35% to 34%. Gallup informs us that when employees find meaning in their work and workplace relationships, these are associated with higher levels of day-to-day morale.
Employee Rights Closely Linked to Emotional Health
According to the Gallup study, disengaged employees, those who do not resonate with their employer’s goals, represent 15% of the global workforce. People often replace the “work to live” culture in Western Europe with the “live to work” mindset in the United States. Although Western European countries have some of the strongest employee protection legislation in the world, they have the lowest engagement, while the U.S., with less robust labor laws, has much higher employee engagement than Western Europe. We’re talking about laws regarding wages, discrimination, paid leave, and safety, which have a positive relationship with employee wellbeing. An interesting paradox exists in the U.S.: job insecurity motivates employees to become more engaged in their jobs. They become more motivated and more aligned with company goals, as if seeking to prove their value and secure a stable position.
Not all labor protection laws are associated with the same type of emotions. For example, laws related to fair wages, safe working conditions, family responsibilities, and maternity are associated with reducing loneliness, while laws related to working hours are associated with less stress.
The Role of the Manager: Responsibility and Prosperity
When managers are engaged in the company and with the teams they lead, employees are more likely to adopt the same active style. The Gallup study revealed that 70% of team engagement levels can be attributed to the manager, with engagement directly linked to interpersonal relationships between the manager and their team members. In multinational companies with the best practices regarding organizational culture, three-quarters of managers are engaged, along with 7 in 10 non-managers. This equals 14 engaged employees for every actively disengaged employee, a ratio 11 times higher than the global average. When organizations increase the number of engaged employees, it leads to improvements in a series of organizational outcomes. The top-performing organizations invest in hiring managers who support employees through engagement, goal setting, regular feedback, and accountability.
The study also found that managers are more likely than other employees to enjoy engagement and wellbeing at work due to higher salaries and social status. Although the role of a manager may seem the most rewarding, it also comes with disadvantages, such as a higher predisposition to stress, worry, anger, and other negative emotions.
Romania Leads Europe in Employee Engagement Once Again
Europe has the lowest regional percentage of employee engagement at work and the lowest percentage of employees actively seeking a new job. Additionally, Europeans rank second, after East Asia, as the “saddest” employees. Despite this, Romania has the highest workplace engagement rate in Europe, with 36%. In terms of other indicators analyzed by Gallup, Romania ranks 13th in Europe for the number of employees who experience daily stress and 20th for the number of employees who intend to leave their current job.
For more information, download the full Gallup study “State of the Global Workplace – The Voice of the World’s Employees 2024”, here.
