Disengaged Managers, Disengaged Teams: The Hidden Cost of Inaction

While AI is reshaping industries, a silent crisis is affecting European organizations: the disengagement of team managers.

A worrying figure: Only 13% engagement in Europe

According to Gallup’s 2025 Global Workplace report, only 13% of European employees feel engaged at work, one of the lowest rates worldwide.

Even more alarming is the fact that manager engagement is plummeting, particularly among young managers under 35 and female managers, whose engagement fell by 5 and 7 percentage points, respectively.

Managers make or break engagement

Gallup states that 70% of a team’s engagement is driven by its manager. When the manager is disengaged, the entire team suffers: it results in lower productivity, increased turnover, and a decline in wellbeing.

Most managers, however, have never received proper training for their role. The 2025 Gallup study reveals that fewer than 1 in 2 managers has received proper management training.

They're expected to juggle competing demands — performance, remote work, digital transformation, AI, and employees' risk of burnout — often without clear support or resources.

What companies should do

Gallup outlines three key strategies:

1. Basic training for all managers — which cuts active disengagement in half.
2. Teach coaching skills — which improves manager performance by 20–28%.
3. Invest in continuous development — which boosts manager wellbeing by 32%, and even more when combined with real encouragement.
   

Rethinking management in France and Europe

Organizations must redefine the role of the manager. Less bureaucracy, more empathy. Less firefighting, more growth. Less isolation, more support.

Backing your managers is the fastest way to reengage your workforce.

How Popwork Can Help

Popwork’s mission is precisely to transform team management through simple and pragmatic tools. Starting today, you can:

• Equip your managers with Popwork, the app that simplifies team management
• Train your managers with the Popwork Academy, a pragmatic and dynamic training program

We also offer specific packages tailored for new managers, combining Popwork + Popwork Academy to fit their needs.
Interested? Write to us at hello@pop.work.