A Gallup poll found that only about one-third of the 57,022 full- and part-time workers surveyed said they felt engaged at their jobs last year, while 16% reported being actively disengaged at work. A survey done in 2020 did not show much of a difference as 36% of employees reported being engaged and 14% said they were actively disengaged. The difference is 2021 marks the first time in 10 years that the engagement percentages saw a year on year decrease, Gallup noted.

“We looked at the elements [of the list] that changed the most this year and it came down to more basic elements that dropped significantly, like clarity of expectations, having the right materials and equipment to do work, having an opportunity to do what I do best at work,” said Jim Harter, Gallup's chief scientist of workplace. “When there's a lot of disruption around us, we have to go back to the foundational basic elements and just make sure everybody knows what their job is, what their role is, and make sure they have what they need to do it.”

Read the full article from the Society for Human Resource Management.