Employee engagement in the United States has dropped below 30%, reaching its lowest level since 2011, Gallup reports. The two-percentage-point decline from the previous quarter represents approximately 3.2 million fewer engaged workers. At the same time, the proportion classified as actively disengaged increased from 17% to 18%.
The deterioration was most pronounced among fully remote employees, whose engagement fell by five points, compared with roughly one point among on-site workers. Remote and hybrid employees at organisations that had implemented artificial intelligence experienced the sharpest declines.
This marks a narrowing of the engagement advantage previously associated with AI adoption. Gallup's July survey had found considerably higher engagement at organisations using AI: in the second quarter of 2026, their advantage over industry peers was eight points for hybrid employees and five points for fully remote staff. By the third quarter, both advantages had contracted to just two points.
Employees' responses also indicated declining clarity about their responsibilities and a weaker sense of personal support. The proportion strongly agreeing that they knew what was expected of them at work fell by three points to 46%. Meanwhile, strong agreement that a supervisor or another person at work cared about them as an individual declined from 40% to 37%.
Gallup raises the question of whether workplace communication is keeping pace with AI integration. It also questions whether managerial support is keeping pace with that process.
