Manager engagement is slipping: why it matters more than ever

• Historic decline: Manager engagement has dropped 9 percentage points since 2022 down to 22%, making managers nearly as disengaged as individual contributors.
• Overwhelming pressure: Managers are struggling with administrative overload, constant organizational change, and AI adoption with limited support or coaching.
• Organizational ripple effect: Disengaged managers directly impair team well-being, culture, retention, and overall business productivity.
• Actionable solutions: Re-engaging managers requires automating non-essential tasks, offering continuous leadership coaching, and strengthening daily support resources.

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Manager engagement is slipping, and the consequences reach far beyond the management layer itself. What might appear to be an HR challenge is increasingly becoming a business performance issue affecting productivity, retention, employee engagement and even AI adoption.

This trend was identified in Circles' Q3/Q4 2026 Workplace Trends Report, and the data is difficult to ignore. According to Gallup's latest State of the Global Workplace report, manager engagement has fallen for the fourth consecutive year, dropping nine percentage points since 2022. Managers are now nearly as disengaged as the employees they lead.

The reality is that organizations have spent years investing in executive development and employee experience programs while placing more responsibility on the people in between. Managers have become culture carriers, coaches, performance leaders, change agents and AI champions, often without the support systems needed to succeed. As manager engagement slipping becomes a widespread challenge, organizations must rethink not just how managers are trained, but how their roles are designed.

What does "manager engagement" actually mean?

Manager engagement refers to the level of emotional commitment, motivation and connection managers feel toward their work, their teams and their organization. It influences how they lead, communicate and support employees every day.

While employee engagement focuses on how individual contributors connect to their work, manager engagement has a multiplier effect. Engaged managers shape team culture, reinforce organizational priorities and directly influence employee satisfaction, trust and performance.

This is why manager engagement matters so much. A disengaged individual impacts their own work. Disengaged managers influence the experience of entire teams.

The latest data shows a worrying decline

The latest Gallup data paints a concerning picture. Manager engagement has dropped from 31% in 2022 to 22% today, representing the steepest decline among all workforce segments. Even more concerning, engagement among managers fell five points in a single year between 2024 and 2025.

Gallup also found that managers are significantly more likely than individual contributors to experience stress, anger, sadness and loneliness during the workday. The gap ranges from seven to twelve percentage points depending on the emotion measured.

Organizations should pay close attention because declining manager engagement rarely stays isolated to the leadership team. It eventually shows up in business metrics leaders care about most, including productivity, absenteeism and the employee turnover rate.

The result is a growing population of disengaged managers who are expected to lead organizations through economic uncertainty, organizational change and digital transformation while carrying increasing levels of emotional strain.

Why are managers becoming disengaged?

The causes of declining manager engagement are complex, but several themes consistently emerge.

Growing workloads and competing priorities

Many managers are doing more with less. Organizational flattening, budget constraints and restructuring efforts have expanded spans of control across industries.

Managers are often overseeing larger teams while absorbing responsibilities previously handled by dedicated support functions. Administrative work, reporting requirements, coordination tasks and compliance obligations continue to grow. Every hour spent on logistics is an hour not spent coaching employees or building team performance.

This growing manager workload contributes directly to manager stress and manager burnout, reducing leadership effectiveness and limiting managers' ability to focus on high-value activities.

The pressure of leading through constant change

Few workplace trends have been stable over the last several years. Hybrid work policies continue to evolve. Return to office initiatives remain a point of tension. Organizational structures shift frequently as businesses respond to changing market conditions.

Managers sit at the center of these transitions.

They're responsible for translating executive decisions into day-to-day action while maintaining employee morale and workplace culture. Over time, constant organizational change creates change fatigue, making it harder for managers to stay engaged and motivated.

AI is creating new expectations for managers

AI adoption is creating an entirely new leadership challenge.

Organizations expect managers to help employees embrace new technologies while learning those tools themselves. They're being asked to answer questions, address concerns and identify opportunities for AI-driven productivity improvements.

Gallup found employees are 8.7X more likely to believe AI has transformed their work when their direct manager actively supports adoption. Yet many managers receive little guidance on how to lead through this transition.

Too many managers are promoted without enough support

Strong individual contributors do not automatically become effective leaders.

Many people managers are promoted based on technical expertise rather than leadership skills. Once in role, they often receive limited onboarding, coaching or ongoing leadership development.

Without structured manager support, leadership coaching and learning and development opportunities, managers can quickly become overwhelmed by expectations that extend far beyond their previous responsibilities.

Why manager engagement impacts the entire organization

Manager engagement slipping should concern every business leader because its effects spread throughout the organization.

Research from Stanford, Harvard and MIT found management practices account for between 20% and 33% of productivity variation across organizations. Better management is directly connected to stronger organizational performance.

When managers are engaged, they communicate more effectively, provide meaningful coaching, foster collaboration and help employees navigate challenges. When engagement declines, those behaviors become less consistent.

The ripple effects appear in employee engagement, employee performance, innovation, talent retention and customer experience. Over time, disengagement and turnover increase while employee retention becomes more difficult to sustain.

What many organizations treat as separate priorities are often connected. Productivity, retention, culture and AI adoption all depend on whether managers have the capacity and support to lead effectively.

The hidden link between manager engagement and employee well-being

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Managers play a critical role in employee well-being.

They're often the first to recognize signs of burnout, workload concerns or personal challenges affecting performance. They shape psychological safety, influence trust and create the conditions that allow employees to speak openly about challenges.

When managers themselves are overwhelmed, those signals become harder to recognize.

Employees may receive less support, fewer performance conversations and reduced access to the guidance they need. Workplace culture suffers as a result.

Organizations that invest in workplace well-being programs, mental health support and practical resources for managers strengthen both manager well-being and team well-being. Supporting managers is one of the most effective ways to support the broader workforce.

How to improve manager engagement

Organizations won't solve declining manager engagement with another mandatory training course alone. The challenge is larger than skill development. It requires reducing friction and creating systems that support managers every day.

Reduce unnecessary administrative work

Managers should spend their time leading people, not navigating paperwork and operational tasks.

Evaluate where managers are absorbing responsibilities that could be automated, streamlined or supported through other workplace resources. Reducing administrative burden creates more capacity for coaching, communication and leadership.

Invest in leadership coaching and development

Leadership development should be continuous, not event-based.

Effective manager engagement strategies include leadership coaching, peer learning groups, manager training, mentoring and leadership development programs that help managers address real-world challenges throughout their careers.

Give managers better well-being support

Organizations often focus workplace wellbeing programs on employees while overlooking managers.

Providing managers with meaningful support, including mental health resources and work-life balance services, improves resilience and strengthens overall team performance.

Build a culture of recognition and feedback

Recognition remains one of the strongest employee engagement drivers.

Managers need regular feedback, opportunities for career development and visible recognition for their contributions. Frequent one-on-one meetings, employee feedback mechanisms and meaningful communication strengthen connection and motivation.

Equip managers with the right workplace resources

One of the most effective ways to improve manager engagement is by reducing the everyday challenges employees bring to their managers.

Flexible benefits, concierge services and workplace hospitality programs help employees solve personal and logistical challenges independently. This allows managers to focus on leadership instead of acting as problem-solvers for issues outside their expertise.

How Circles helps organizations keep managers engaged

Circles supports managers by reducing the friction that distracts them from leading.

Our workplace hospitality management services help organizations create environments where employees receive practical support before challenges escalate to managers. Through concierge services, workplace experience programs and employee support resources, employees gain access to solutions that improve daily life and workplace satisfaction.

This approach benefits managers as much as employees. When employees can access trusted support for everyday challenges, managers spend less time resolving logistical issues and more time coaching, developing talent and strengthening culture.

Circles' work-life balance services, employee experience solutions and workplace hospitality programs help organizations build a stronger support infrastructure around both employees and managers. The result is a more resilient workforce, stronger leadership effectiveness and a healthier workplace experience for everyone.

Frequently asked questions about why manager engagement is slipping

What causes low manager engagement?

Low manager engagement is typically driven by excessive workloads, limited manager support, organizational change, unclear expectations, insufficient leadership development and growing pressure related to AI adoption and workforce transformation.

Why is manager engagement important?

Manager engagement directly influences productivity, workplace culture, employee engagement, employee morale, talent retention and business performance. Managers serve as a critical connection point between organizational strategy and employee experience.

How does manager engagement affect employee engagement?

Engaged managers communicate more effectively, provide better coaching and build stronger relationships with employees. As manager engagement declines, employee engagement often declines as well because managers shape many aspects of the day-to-day employee experience.

What can companies do to improve manager engagement?

Organizations can improve manager engagement by reducing administrative burden, investing in leadership coaching, strengthening manager enablement, expanding wellbeing resources, supporting workplace flexibility and providing services that reduce everyday stress for both managers and employees.

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