Declining Employee Engagement: How to Achieve Balance?

• #Labor market
• #HR

Since 2020, there has been a steady trend of declining employee engagement. According to the international company Gallup, the peak of engagement was at the beginning of 2020, reaching 36%. After that, the engagement level began to decrease, reaching 30% at the beginning of 2024. The drop in engagement is especially noticeable among employees under 35 years old, which may be related to changes in the work environment and the expectations of young professionals.

All leading consulting firms worldwide note the overall decline in engagement. The COVID-19 pandemic, the shift to remote work, economic instability, and new employee expectations have led to reduced enthusiasm at work and a need to transform approaches to managing engagement.

The pandemic caused high levels of anxiety and stress among employees, the effects of which are still felt today. Companies widely transitioned to remote work, but not all organizations were prepared in terms of processes and communication, which also significantly affected people's mindset and their attitude toward work.

Currently, companies actively use hybrid and fully remote work formats. The lack of live interaction reduces engagement levels, as confirmed by research data. The paradox is that employees remain interested in working from home—either partially or fully. Flexible work has become one of the most important demands for employers alongside compensation and sustainable hiring.

Thus, increasing employee engagement is on the agenda for many HR professionals worldwide. Several important aspects for working with engagement include:

• Supporting employees' psychological well-being through corporate programs and flexible working conditions;

• Using HR analytics and AI to develop personalized motivation and development programs for employees;

• Focusing on skills development by offering more educational opportunities for career growth;

• Paying more attention to Employee Experience—from convenient digital services to changes in corporate culture;

• Developing "re-engagement" strategies for employees who have lost interest in work.

Automation of processes will allow HR professionals to focus on deeper interaction with personnel.