Gallup’s report shows U.S. and Canadian workers reporting highest engagement levels and job climates globally
by CM Staff
Gallup research has consistently found that employee engagement is a significant driver of organizational success.
WASHINGTON — Gallup’s latest State of the Global Workplace Report finds that, despite more than two years of the pandemic, U.S. and Canadian workers seemed to rebound in 2021. Employees reported higher life evaluations than the previous year and declines across several negative emotions. In 2021, 33% of U.S. and Canadian employees were engaged at work and 60% were thriving in their wellbeing, compared to the rest of the world where 21% were engaged and 33% were thriving.
Gallup research has consistently found that employee engagement is a significant driver of organizational success. Businesses and organizations with high employee engagement achieve higher productivity, better customer relationships, lower turnover and higher profitability.
Globally, employee engagement and wellbeing remain very low, and it is holding back enormous growth potential. Gallup estimates that low employee engagement costs the global economy $7.8 trillion.
The pandemic years have been marked by a global stagnation in engagement; however, the U.S. and Canada region remains the most engaged in the world, while Europe and MENA have the lowest engagement. Remarkably, South Asia saw the strongest growth in engagement — an increase of 9 percentage points — even as the region saw declines across other measures.
The job market also seems to have recovered. Forty-five percent of currently employed employees around the world said now is a good time to find a job, up slightly from last year but less than the record 55% in 2019. Global job opportunities had been rising steadily in the decade prior to the pandemic.
The regional outlier for this item is the U.S. and Canada region, which leads at the world at 71%, up 44 percentage points from the previous year. This number is even more remarkable given that Gallup surveys the U.S. year-round, so it’s unlikely due to a specific moment of 2021. The next closest regions are Australia and New Zealand at 59% and South Asia at 50%.
“While, as a region, the U.S. and Canada have significantly more engaged and thriving employees in comparison with the global workforce, U.S. and Canadian employees report higher daily worry and stress than is the case globally. The U.S. and Canada also have some significant differences between them. Employees in the U.S. report a higher percentage of engaged employees and Canadian employees, while less engaged, are more likely to be thriving in their overall lives. Engagement at work and overall wellbeing are both important to reduce the chance of burnout,” said Jim Harter, Gallup’s Chief Workplace Scientist.
