Gallup estimates that if the world’s workplace was fully engaged, US$9.6 trillion in productivity could be added to the global economy, the equivalent of 9% in global GDP.
Managers hold the key
Less than half of the world’s managers (44%) say they have received management training. The most urgent fix in your organization may not be AI — it’s your first-line manager.
The biggest transformation your organization needs right now isn’t AI—it’s reimagining the role of the first-line manager. Gallup’s 2025 report shows a sharp drop in manager engagement, especially among young and female leaders. When managers burn out, teams disengage, productivity drops, and culture suffers. Yet most managers are promoted for technical skills, not leadership ability. Instead of one-off training, they need ongoing coaching and support. Try the 1:1:1 model—monthly check-ins with their leader and a peer coach. Empowering managers to lead with empathy may be the most powerful upgrade your workplace can make this year.
What if the greatest threat to workplace engagement isn’t remote work, AI disruption, or Gen Z’s attention spans?
According to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025, the steepest drop in engagement isn’t among front-line employees — it’s among managers. Global manager engagement has slipped from 30% to 27% in just one year. That drop is even sharper among young (<35) and female managers, falling 5 and 7 percentage points respectively .
This isn’t a performance problem. It’s a design failure.
Yet most organizations still promote managers based on technical skills, not coaching ability. The result? Burnout disguised as poor leadership.
- Global engagement dropped to 21% — similar to COVID-era lows.
- Manager engagement fell 3x faster than employee engagement.
- Only 33% of people globally say they’re “thriving.”
- South Asia has the lowest life satisfaction scores, yet some of the highest levels of daily anger and sadness .
Why This Matters: Managers Are Culture-Shapers
We love to say “People don’t quit companies, they quit managers.” But then we hand managers the job of engagement without the training, bandwidth, or psychological safety to succeed.
This Gallup report offers a painful reminder: When your manager fails, your culture fails. Engagement, wellbeing, and performance all tank.
The managers need help
We don’t need to rethink performance reviews — we need to rethink the manager’s role.
Move from 1:1s to the 1:1:1 Model
Every month, schedule a three-way check-in with:
- The manager
- Their skip-level leader
- A peer-coach or mentor
This simple ritual builds psychological safety, normalizes vulnerability and shares the emotional load
Instead of manager training as a one-off workshop, treat it like gym membership — small, consistent lifts every week.
The Bigger Trend: The Identity Shift in Work
This crisis isn’t isolated. It’s part of two larger waves:
- AI is automating tasks, but increasing demands on emotional intelligence.
- Workers — especially managers — are asking: “Who am I without constant output?”
The role of a manager is no longer “supervisor.” It’s psychological architect.
And most of them are building that architecture without blueprints.
Don’t Fix Culture, Coach the Manager
According to Gallup, if the world reached 70% engagement, we could unlock $9.6 trillion in GDP gains.
When managers struggle, entire teams suffer. Burnout rises, engagement drops, and wellbeing declines. Organizations must stop treating management as a reward and start seeing it as a skilled role that requires development. Equip your managers with coaching, peer support, and real-time feedback. Your culture doesn’t change through strategy decks — it changes through your managers.
We chase growth through innovation, product design, and M&A. But the greatest unlock might just be better manager coaching.
