Gallup

When employee wellbeing declines, organizations feel it quickly — in burnout, turnover and day-to-day performance. Employee wellbeing reflects how people experience their lives overall, not just how they feel at work. It includes the work they do, the relationships they have and how supported they feel as whole people. Gallup research shows that when employees believe their organization cares about their overall wellbeing, they are 72% less likely to experience frequent burnout and 49% less likely to be watching for or actively seeking a new job. For leaders, this makes wellbeing a clear business priority. Monitoring wellbeing can signal risk early, and supporting it shapes whether performance can be sustained over time. Explore how leading organizations measure and improve employee wellbeing. https://lnkd.in/gfDKGw9n

Some teams consistently outperform others. Their success isn’t because of organizational perks or policies, but because of how these people experience their work every day. Gallup research shows that highly engaged teams perform better on productivity, profitability and customer outcomes, with lower turnover and absenteeism. That measurable difference is built through a small set of consistent experiences: clear expectations, meaningful recognition, ongoing conversations and providing employees the opportunity to use their strengths. Managers account for 70% of the variance in team engagement. The question for leaders isn't whether engagement matters; it's whether managers are equipped to create it. https://lnkd.in/grFusK8H

Creating accountability is the lowest-rated leadership competency in Gallup’s research. Less than half of leaders say they are exceptional or outstanding at holding teams accountable for performance. As expectations rise and workplaces grow more complex, this shortfall in accountability is becoming increasingly problematic. Accountability starts with defining what exceptional performance looks like in a role, and reinforcing that standard when it’s not met. This requires clear expectations and consistent follow-through, but Gallup’s research shows clarity about “what is expected at work” is one of the items with the largest decline among U.S. employees since 2020. Effective leaders build habits for accountability into their daily routines through ongoing coaching, defining clear priorities and consistently following through. When those practices are in place, teams are better positioned to succeed — and sustainable performance follows. https://lnkd.in/gt43exBp

Only 21% of employees globally are engaged at work. That’s not an intangible HR metric — that’s a performance problem. Engagement shapes how people show up every day: how much effort they give, how long they stay and how well they serve customers. It’s the difference between teams that simply function and teams that perform consistently. So what actually drives it? Gallup’s research identifies five core elements that consistently shape employee engagement — and shows leaders a clear path toward improving it. https://lnkd.in/eVr4VtFw

Leadership effectiveness is measured across multiple dimensions, with leaders tending to be stronger in some than others. Gallup’s research identified seven core competencies that consistently define leadership success. Across those competencies, one consistently ranks last, regardless of who is answering doing the rating: create accountability. What stands out is the consensus. Leaders tend to rate themselves higher than managers rate their direct leaders across competencies, a pattern often linked to self-assessment bias. Accountability is the exception, where both leaders and managers agree it is the weakest. That’s concerning because accountability shapes one of the most critical elements of high performance: clarity of expectations. When expectations are not consistently defined and reinforced, engagement declines and high performance becomes harder to sustain. Managers who say their leaders are “exceptional” or “outstanding” at holding everyone responsible for exceptional performance are three times as likely to be engaged — 51% vs. 17%. Strengthening this competency is not just about leadership development, it is directly tied to how teams perform. Learn more: https://lnkd.in/g-hYXHdA

In 85 of 136 countries, those under 25 report higher life evaluations today than they did in 2006-2010. But this global pattern masks a sharp regional divergence. In the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, life evaluations among those under 25 have fallen by an average of 0.86 points on the 0 to 10 scale. Several Western European countries have also recorded notable declines. The result is a widening geographic divide in youth wellbeing. Explore the rankings and trends in this year’s World Happiness Report 2026 — out now. https://lnkd.in/gKAq-UPR

Is the global landscape of happiness changing? For the ninth consecutive year, Finland ranks as the world’s happiest country. Iceland, Denmark and Sweden follow behind, reinforcing the Nordic region’s sustained position at the top of the rankings. But the global top 20 looks different than it did a decade ago. The top tier is no longer confined to Western advanced economies. Costa Rica now ranks fourth — the highest position ever recorded for a Latin American country. Long-term trends also show that 79 of 136 countries have experienced significant gains in life evaluations since 2006-2010, while 41 have declined. While annual positions capture attention, the longer-term trends reveal how global wellbeing is evolving across regions and generations. Drawing on two decades of Gallup World Poll data from more than 140 countries, the World Happiness Report 2026 — produced in partnership among Gallup, Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre, the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network and the World Happiness Report’s Editorial Board — provides a global benchmark for understanding wellbeing today. This year’s report also explores broader questions about social connection in modern life, including the role of social media. Explore the full findings: https://lnkd.in/gZAgdzuU

AI use is growing inside organizations, but it’s concentrated at the top. Leaders report substantially higher levels of AI use at work than managers and individual contributors. Meanwhile, nearly half of employees say they never use AI in their role. That uneven distribution widens the distance between strategic experimentation and day-to-day execution. When AI use is concentrated among leaders, it becomes a tool that influences decision-making faster than it reshapes daily workflows. As organizations expand investment in AI technology, the spread of adoption across roles — not just the overall rate of use — will determine how broadly its effects are felt. https://lnkd.in/g_tZCEcU

Great teams don’t happen by chance. They happen by design. Many organizations invest heavily in hiring great people and defining a compelling mission, yet performance often stalls at the team level. The difference between talent and results is usually the quality of the team experience. The team is where people activate their strengths with others. It is where culture becomes real, where inclusion and belonging are felt, and where feedback and recognition shape daily performance. Gallup has studied this dynamic for more than three decades, surveying over 183,000 teams about their work experiences and linking those insights to performance outcomes. Discover how exceptional teams are built when leaders approach team performance scientifically. https://lnkd.in/gfcGZd5V

AI use in the public sector is rising quickly. In Q4 2025, 43% of public-sector employees report using AI , exceeding the 41% who report using AI in the private sector. In organizations where managers actively support AI use, 65% of public-sector employees are frequent users, defined as using it daily or a few times a week. Where manager support is low, that number drops to 37%. A 28-percentage-point difference — driven not by access or tools, but by leadership behavior. The same is true in the private sector; among employees who say their manager supports AI use, 80% use it frequently compared with 44% in organizations with low manager support. Strategy alone is not enough. When managers model AI use and connect it to day-to-day work, experimentation becomes habit. https://lnkd.in/daYMHErz