Employee Engagement

Uninspired, Unengaged

UK workers are dissatisfied, so much so, their engagement levels stand at 14%, down 2% from last year.  

According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace Report, UK’s employee engagement levels have fallen steadily over the past decade and the country has the lowest regional percentage of engaged employees globally. Countries like the United States, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand topped the list for the most engaged employees and also for the highest percentage of employees who are thriving. 

The report found that only 9% of UK workers felt enthused by their work and workplace and across Europe, only 14% felt engaged with their work. This compares to higher average engagement levels in places like North America (33%) and South Asia (27%).  

Some factors contributing to the UK’s unfavorable engagement rates are daily negative emotions. Thirty-seven per cent of respondents had daily worry, 39% had daily stress, 19% had daily anger, and 21% had daily sadness; the latter two having increased from the previous year. Additionally, each of these daily feelings were more prevalent in women than men.  

Though UK employees aren’t faring well with engagement levels, the report does show that British workers feel they have a high quality of life. Whilst Finland tops the European list of those thriving in life (84%), 60% in the UK say they are thriving in life. In this category, the UK outperforms other European countries, including Germany (56%), France (43%), and Spain (41%). 

Gallup also recorded a three-point drop in the proportion of people (34%) satisfied with the UK government’s performance on environmental matters. 

Tags: Employee Engagement

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