Employee engagement in U.S. hits lowest point in 15 years

U.S. worker engagement reached a 15-year low, with only 29% of employees feeling engaged, according to a recent Gallup report. This represents a two-point decline from the previous quarter, equating to approximately 3.2 million fewer engaged workers. The share of "actively disengaged" workers increased from 17% to 18%. The most significant drop in engagement was observed among fully remote employees, who saw their engagement levels fall by five points.

AI integration in organizations appears to be exacerbating the engagement decline. Remote and hybrid employees working in AI-integrated companies experienced the sharpest decline in engagement compared to their counterparts in non-AI-integrated organizations. While Gallup found higher engagement levels at AI-integrated organizations in Q2 2026, this advantage narrowed to just 2 points by Q3, especially for remote and hybrid workers.

The survey revealed that engagement among onsite workers only declined by about 1 point. Gallup's report raises concerns about whether communication and manager support are keeping pace with AI integration. Specifically, the percentage of employees who strongly agreed they knew what was expected of them at work dropped three points to 46%, while the percentage who strongly agreed their supervisor or someone at work cared about them as a person decreased by three points, from 40% to 37%.

Gallup began tracking employee engagement in 2000, and only 26% of U.S. workers were engaged at that time. Engagement peaked at 36% in 2020 before declining to 31% in 2024 and 29% this quarter. The survey measures engagement using a composite of 12 characteristics, including "role clarity," "resource availability," and "recognition for good work."