What Is the State of the Global Workplace Right Now?

Sharon Andrade, Founder at HLeader, HSMAI Sales Advisory Board Member

In a recent meeting of the HSMAI sales advisory board, we discussed talent engagement, productivity, and what happens when managers start to fray. Global employee engagement declined last year, and the economic impact reached hundreds of billions in lost productivity. The most consistent signal was manager engagement slipping first, followed closely by teams, performance, and outcomes that as commercial leaders, we feel quickly.

We’ve all seen that managers have been carrying more weight since the pandemic, with shifting executive expectations layered on top of evolving employee needs. In the Gallup research, younger managers saw engagement fall by five percentage points, while female manager engagement declined by seven points. These numbers matter because manager engagement directly shapes team engagement, which directly shapes revenue performance, execution quality, and growth potential across sales, marketing, revenue, and distribution functions.

One theme kept surfacing throughout the discussion: when engagement drops, people don’t necessarily quit, they just give less effort, and performance quietly declines. When managers disengage, effort narrows to tasks instead of outcomes, and productivity follows. Quiet quitting shows up long before resignations do, while active disengagement creates real risk inside organizations already stretched thin.

Flexibility continues to drive engagement, with hybrid and remote work cited most often during our discussion. Contract and gig talent are also becoming more common as loyalty patterns shift, particularly among younger professionals. These approaches can help, but they do not solve burnout on their own. Several leaders described high-performing, fully remote teams where burnout went unnoticed until top performers unexpectedly exited.

We talked about how recognition and feeling heard are the strongest engagement levers. Appreciation looks different across generations, roles, and personalities, and generic programs often miss the mark. Consistent recognition, peer acknowledgment, and personalized approaches resonated more than traditional incentives tied only to performance cycles.

One line from the discussion captured the risk clearly: “How much effort are teams, leaders, and employees putting forth?” When effort drops, commercial performance follows, regardless of strategy or tools.

Advisory Board members also emphasized the importance of psychological safety, including openly admitting mistakes and asking better questions during one-on-one conversations. Making it safe to speak up helps alleviate small issues before they become operational problems that consume time, energy, and trust. Being heard requires regular outreach, unscripted conversations, and attention beyond dashboards and surveys.

The takeaway is that engagement is not a soft issue, and it is not owned by HR alone. It is a performance issue with direct implications for revenue, growth, and long-term competitiveness.

Questions for Teams

What does great talent look like today?
What impacts have you seen from manager burn-out or disengagement in your organizations?
How do you support managers and what specific training, tools or resources do you enable to develop and engage talent?
How are you deciding what to automate vs. where to stay high-touch in the sales process and how does that affect talent needs and development?
Gallup research shows that employees who feel heard are up to five times more engaged.
a. What do you do consistently to ensure your team and or leaders feel heard?
b. What is one best practice you have for recognition outside of standard incentive or performance based programs?
What one thing can leaders do to positively impact manager engagement?