U.S. Employee Engagement Drops to 29%, a 15-Year Low, with Remote Work Seeing the Steepest Decline
A Gallup poll shows that U.S. employee engagement fell to 29% in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest level since 2011 and a 2-percentage-point drop from the previous quarter. The proportion of actively disengaged workers rose from 17% to 18%, while another 53% of employees were not engaged.
U.S. Employee Engagement Drops to 29%, a 15-Year Low, with the Steepest Decline Among Remote Workers
A Gallup survey shows that U.S. employee engagement fell to 29% in the third quarter of 2026, the lowest level since 2011 and a 2-percentage-point decrease from the previous quarter. The proportion of actively disengaged employees rose from 17% to 18%, while another 53% of employees were not engaged.
The largest declines were seen among remote and hybrid workers, particularly in organizations that have adopted AI. The percentage of employees who clearly understand their job expectations dropped to 46%, and the percentage who feel cared for by their manager or colleagues fell to 37%. Based on an estimate of roughly 1.6 million employees per percentage point, this quarter represents a loss of about 3.2 million engaged employees.
Source: Gallup