Picture a manager at a growing company. One of her team members left a month ago, so she’s been covering that role on top of her own. Her one-on-ones keep getting pushed to next week. She’s the first one online and the last one off, and when anyone asks how she’s doing, she says she’s fine.
Many managers will recognize that picture. Gallup, a research and analytics firm that has measured employee engagement around the world since 2009, found that the recent drop in employee engagement has been driven largely by managers. For small and midsize businesses, where managers often juggle several roles at once, that finding deserves a closer look.
What Gallup Found
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report draws on surveys of employees in more than 140 countries and territories, making it the world’s largest ongoing study of the employee experience. It found that manager engagement worldwide dropped from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025. According to Gallup, lower engagement among managers accounts for most of the recent decline in employee engagement overall.
Gallup calls this the shrinking perk of being a manager. Managers used to be noticeably more engaged than the people they lead. Today, they’re increasingly only as engaged as their teams.
Why Managers Are Feeling It
Managers sit in the middle of the organization. They carry goals and decisions down from leadership while also absorbing their team’s questions and workload. A few of Gallup’s findings help explain why that position can be so demanding.
Bigger teams. A Gallup study of U.S. managers found that manager engagement declines as the number of people they oversee grows. The same research found that manager talent and training can help offset that effect.
Gaps in training. Gallup notes that few managers have natural management talent, and many haven’t received the training they need to coach teams and individuals well. For many, stepping into management means learning a very different set of skills on the job.
Leading through change. Managers are often the ones expected to help their teams adapt to new tools and processes, including AI. Gallup found that manager-led adoption is one of the top drivers of frequent AI use at work, which adds another responsibility to an already full plate.
Why It Matters for the Whole Team
A manager’s engagement rarely stays contained. In its State of the American Manager research, Gallup estimated that managers account for at least 70% of the variance in employee engagement scores across business units. When a manager is stretched thin, their team is likely to feel it as well.
The good news runs in the same direction. Gallup found that engaged managers report experiencing negative emotions such as stress at lower rates than individual contributors. Supporting managers helps them, and it gives their teams a steadier foundation too.
Gallup is also clear that declining manager engagement isn’t inevitable. In what Gallup calls best-practice organizations, 79% of managers were engaged in 2025, nearly four times the global average.
Signs a Manager May Be Running Low
Managers are often good at looking fine. A few patterns are worth noticing:
- One-on-ones get canceled or cut short more often.
- They’re consistently the first one online and the last one off.
- They take on their team’s work themselves, even when it could be delegated.
- Decisions start to stall, or small issues get escalated that they’d normally handle.
- They seem less patient, quieter in meetings, or less like themselves.
None of these signs means something is wrong on its own. Together, they’re a good reason for a supportive conversation.
How to Support Your Managers
Invest in training. Gallup’s research suggests that training can help offset the strain of leading larger teams. Practical skills like coaching, giving feedback and handling difficult conversations make the day-to-day work of leading a team feel more doable.
Check in on them, too. Managers spend a lot of time asking how others are doing. Make sure someone is asking them. Regular one-on-ones with their own leader give managers space to talk through challenges before they build up.
Keep team sizes realistic. If a manager’s team has grown significantly, it’s worth looking at whether the workload is still sustainable or whether responsibilities could be shared.
Clarify priorities. Help managers understand what matters most right now and what can wait. Clear priorities make it easier to say no to lower-value work.
Support them through change. When new tools or processes roll out, give managers the information and resources they need to lead their teams through it, ideally before their teams start asking questions.
Recognize the work. Much of what good managers do happens behind the scenes. A sincere thank-you for the coaching and support they provide can mean a lot.
Taking Care of the People Who Take Care of Your Team
Managers shape much of what employees experience at work, which makes their wellbeing a business priority in its own right. The data shows many of them are feeling the strain. It also shows that with the right support, managers can stay engaged and help their teams do the same.
If you’re looking for ways to support your managers, HR On Call offers employee and management training that helps them build practical skills and lead their teams with confidence.