Globally employee engagement has dropped to 20 per cent from its peak of 23 per cent in 2022, finds Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2026 report. This is the first time global engagement has dropped for two consecutive years, says the report. The biggest drop was in South Asia (minus-5 points). No region of the world showed increased engagement in the past year. Last year, low engagement cost the world economy approximately $10 trillion in lost productivity, or 9 per cent of GDP, it says.

In 2025, South Asia (primarily India) experienced an eight-point decline in manager engagement — the largest decline for any region, finds the report. At the same time, the percentage of managers in South Asia also declined, suggesting that employers are cutting management roles, it says.

“Some evidence suggests that in 2025, India’s IT sector saw a substantial slowdown in hiring, along with cuts to mid-level and senior roles, possibly driven in part by AI adoption,” says the report, analysing the reduction in management roles.

Financial stress at work

A survey of 637 working professionals in the 30-45 age group in India, conducted by personal finance advisory firm 1 Finance, has revealed widespread financial stress, which, it says, directly affects workplace productivity and job satisfaction across major metro cities. More than two-thirds of respondents report that personal financial worries intrude on their work hours, while a comparable share have considered leaving otherwise satisfying roles purely for higher pay. Over half have lived without a meaningful savings buffer for extended periods.

From investing and retirement planning to basic budgeting, professionals appear to lack confidence in making financial decisions at multiple levels. This points to a systemic gap in financial preparedness, where even those earning well may feel unequipped to manage, grow, and sustain their money effectively, amplifying stress and uncertainty over time, notes the report.

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Published on April 13, 2026