Report: State of the Global Workplace

Gallup’s state of the global workplace report summarises a wealth of data on how effectively employers and countries around the world are using the human capital in their workforces.

Key findings

• Worldwide, the percentage of adults who work full time for an employer and are engaged at work — they are highly involved in and enthusiastic about their work and workplace — is just 15%.
• Business units in the top quartile of Gallup’s global employee engagement database are 17% more productive and 21% more profitable than those in the bottom quartile.
• Employee engagement levels tend to be lower in industries characterised by more routinised jobs, such as manufacturing and production.
• Businesses that orient performance management systems around basic human needs for psychological engagement — such as positive workplace relationships, frequent recognition, ongoing performance conversations and opportunities for personal development — get the most out of their employees.

Most of the data in this report comes from the Gallup World Poll, for which Gallup conducts nationally representative surveys annually in more than 150 countries around the world.