Your managers are more disengaged than their teams

Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace report is making waves from boardrooms to LinkedIn feeds, with one urgent takeaway: manager burnout is taking a serious toll, and it’s dragging the whole workplace down.

With engagement falling and billions lost in productivity, the solution to high turnover and low morale might lie in the very people we’re leaning on the most: our leaders. But as business owners and HR teams digest the data, one pressing question remains: How do we drive engagement when our disengaged leaders are the ones leading the pack?

Workplace engagement is slipping fast. In 2024, global workplace engagement dropped from 23% to 21%, matching the steep declines seen during COVID lockdowns. Leaders took the biggest hit, falling from 30% to 27%, while average employee engagement stayed at 18%. These may look like small percentage shifts, but the cost is massive: an estimated $438 billion in lost productivity. Young and female managers are feeling it the most, worn down by five years of compounding pressure, from post-pandemic turnover and the introduction of remote work to rising demands around AI and wellbeing.

In today’s post-pandemic world, the definition of a “healthy workplace” has shifted. In 2024, WHS Australia introduced Psychosocial Legislation, stating that workplaces have a responsibility to eliminate psychosocial risks or, if that’s not reasonably practicable, minimise them as far as is reasonably practicable.  

Common psychosocial risks include:  

• Job demands

• Low job control

• Poor support

• Lack of role clarity

• Poor organisational change management

• Inadequate reward and recognition

• Traumatic events or material  

• Remote or isolated work

• Violence and aggression

• Bullying and harassment (including sexual and gender-based harassment)

‍

Psychosocial injuries compared to physical injuries often have longer recovery times, are more costly, and lead to increased time away from work. Addressing these risks not only protects employees but can also reduce turnover and absenteeism, while boosting overall organisational performance and productivity.

With the added weight of legislative responsibilities and post-pandemic pressures, it’s no surprise that managers are feeling the strain. When employers provide training and someone at work actively encourages manager development, Gallup found manager thriving increased by 50%. This shows that supporting managers doesn’t just improve their wellbeing, it helps businesses meet legislative requirements while also lifting engagement across the board.

Gallup’s recommendations for workplaces include:

• Ensuring all managers receive training to boost engagement by half

• Teaching effective coaching strategies to boost manager performance

• Increasing manager wellbeing by 32% through ongoing development

• Providing mental health training for all leadership

‍

Mental health training

Employee wellbeing is also at a historic low. With a significant drop in life evaluations (satisfaction with income and quality of life) businesses must act now to ensure safety, support, and engagement in their teams.

With the right support, leaders can confidently respond when team members share mental health concerns. Understanding, acting on, and promoting good mental health is essential to building safer, healthier workplaces. Equipped with mental health knowledge, managers become positive role models, influencing culture and performance across the board.

All leaders should be able to:

• Understand mental health and psychosocial risks

• Name the impacts of mental illness on the workplace

• Notice symptoms and provide support

• Confidentially have wellbeing conversations

• Know how to report and respond to risks

‍

At Health at Work, we offer our Leading Mental Health program designed to build resilient, aware, and skilled leaders who champion the mental wellbeing of their teams and themselves. Delivered as a one-off workshop or annual program, this course supports skill development over time. Investing in your leadership team is not just about meeting compliance, it’s about building a more engaged, more connected workplace from the top down.

By training your leaders and reshaping the expectations and support around them, business leaders can follow Gallup’s recommendation to “create an environment where managers thrive – and when managers thrive, so do their teams.”

Investing in your managers isn't just good leadership, its smart business. Ready to support your leaders? Start with training that transforms your workplace from the top down.

‍