A Review of Gallup’s 2026 Workplace Report: What it tells us about human connection in the age of AI
1. Engagement is falling and the cost is impossible to ignore
Global engagement has dropped again, now sitting at 20%. It’s the first time we’ve seen two consecutive years of decline.
Gallup now estimates the cost of low engagement at $10 trillion in lost productivity, equivalent to 9% of global GDP – proving this is no longer just a people issue. It’s also an economic one.
2. AI isn’t fixing weak workplaces, it’s exposing them
As engagement and productivity drop, organisations have increasingly reached out to AI as the solution, investing billions. Despite this, the 2026 report states that:
- 95% of organisations report no meaningful profit impact
- 89% of leaders report no productivity gains
- Only 12% of employees say AI has changed how work gets done
This isn’t a technology failure, it’s a people failure, because the biggest barrier to AI adoption is not the tools. It’s whether managers are helping their teams use them effectively. If people don’t feel supported, safe and clear, even the best technology won’t create results.
3. Managers are the key to successful AI adoption
We’ve known for years that managers matter. Gallup has consistently shown that around 70% of team engagement is driven by the manager – but the role of the manager is now even more critical to organisational success.
Data from the 2026 Report shows that managers are now the single biggest driver of whether organisations can actually make progress with AI. Employees are almost 100 times more likely to see AI as transformative when their manager actively supports them.
But are managers in a position where they have the desire, energy and capability to drive this change? This has to be questioned, as manager engagement has dropped significantly over the past few years, and is now much closer to the levels of the teams they lead.
It seems that their role and significance is increasing as their energy to deliver is depleting.
4. Leaders are carrying more than we think
When it comes to organisational leaders, they report higher overall wellbeing, but significantly worse day-to-day experiences than the people they lead. Specifically, they are more likely to feel stress, anger, sadness and loneliness.
That matters because pressure at the top doesn’t stay at the top. It shows up in how leaders communicate and how much trust and connection they create around them. Those behaviours set the tone for managers, shaping how they lead their teams day to day.
And that, in turn, shapes the employee experience. It affects whether people feel safe to speak up, whether teams collaborate effectively, and whether individuals can perform and adapt in the face of constant change.
If leaders are stretched, distracted or operating under sustained pressure, it becomes much harder to create the conditions where teams can thrive, work well together, and embrace the change and transformation required in the modern workplace.
5. What this all means for organisations
The message from the 2026 report is clear. Organisations have invested heavily in tools, systems and technological transformation, but far less in supporting leaders, managers and teams to adapt and support each other in this new world.
That imbalance is now starting to show up in engagement, performance and the limited return many organisations are seeing from AI.
The opportunity is clear. There needs to be more focus on building the human skills that make all of this work. This means helping leaders survive the pressures of change. And helping managers build trust, have honest conversations and lead their teams through change.
Final Thoughts
There’s a consistent thread running through the 2026 report. Technology is moving quickly, but the human system around it isn’t keeping pace – it’s being left behind.
If organisations want better results and a stronger return on what they’re investing in, the answer isn’t just more tools. It’s improving how people connect, communicate and work together – as humans, not machines.
