Employee Engagement – Latest from Gallup – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1144

Employee Engagement – Latest from Gallup – Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post #1144

Dear Colleagues! This is Asrar Qureshi’s Blog Post 1144 for Pharma Veterans. Pharma Veterans Blogs are published by Asrar Qureshi on its dedicated site https://pharmaveterans.com. Please email to pharmaveterans2017@gmail.com  for publishing your contributions here.

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Preamble

This blog post is inspired by the Gallup article “Anemic Employee Engagement Points to Leadership Challenges”, published on August 6, 2025. (Link at the end). This piece explores the growing challenges of workplace engagement, offers insight into leadership’s role, and provides actionable strategies leaders can adopt today.

Anemic Employee Engagement: A Wake-Up Call for Leadership

When employees stop caring, organizations slip. Gallup’s recent findings, what they call “anemic employee engagement” aren’t just statistics; they are a red flag signaling that traditional leadership approaches no longer resonate. In today’s fast-changing workplace, leadership must evolve, or risk slipping into stagnation.

The Engagement Stalemate

Senior leaders surveyed by Gallup repeatedly cite chronic disengagement as one of their biggest hurdles. In mid-2025:

25% of employees report underinvestment in their development, compensation, tools, or staffing. “Lack of follow-through on promised raises” is a common refrain.

14% point to weak performance management systems, with little feedback, recognition, or clear development plans.

This signals not just fatigue at the front line, but structural misalignment—where leadership strategies haven’t caught up to evolving expectations.

A Leadership Crisis, Not A Workforce One

So, what lies behind these numbers?

Culture Needs Design, Not Hope

Workplace culture doesn’t form by chance. Every remote update, every feedback session, or the lack thereof, shapes it. Hybrid teams demand deliberate connection rituals, frequent feedback loops, and shared routines. Clear understanding of organizational priorities and how each role contributes are essential. Without this, disengagement sets in quickly.

Transparency Builds Trust

Amidst uncertainty, ambiguous leadership creates anxiety. People want to understand “why we’re doing this.” Leaders need to show up authentically and invite employee input. Without a platform for employee voices, trust erodes—and so does engagement.

Resource Gaps Breach Trust

Even simple actions, like underfunded teams or broken tools, signal neglect. Employees notice it matters when organizations compromise on staffing, pay, or infrastructure. Sustaining motivation requires investment that demonstrates value—not just rhetoric.

Performance Systems Must Match New Expectations

Sticking to once-a-year performance reviews feels archaic, and ineffective, as expectations demand speed, autonomy, and adaptability. Leaders must enable autonomy with clarity in expectations and strong accountability. Without continuous, honest feedback, employees drift and disengage.

The Tipping Point: Why Leadership Investment Can't Wait

The ripple effects of disengagement are profound. A Gallup indicator links manager engagement to team engagement, and, by extension, organizational performance. With global employee engagement stagnant and managers, themselves growing disengaged, the risk to productivity and innovation becomes critical.

In short, without strong, engaged leadership, teams can’t thrive, nor can organizations.

What Leaders Must Do Now: A Playbook for Re-engagement

Rebuild Connection – Systematically

Establish regular channels for meaningful interaction:

Daily or weekly check-ins, feedback sessions, storytelling moments.

Clear routines that reinforce psychological safety.

Hybrid models that include in-person rituals where possible.

These practices align culture and clarity for distributed teams.

Be Transparent, Be Human

Leaders must shift from “broadcast mode” to conversation mode:

Explain the “why” behind decisions.

Ask for input—especially from those closest to customers.

Validate concerns, encourage questions, and model openness.

This builds ownership and restores faith in leadership.

Invest with Intent

Pay, perks, or updated systems are not luxuries—they’re essentials:

Identify and fix tool or process pain points.

Ensure pay reflects contributions and market realities.

Staff teams adequately to avoid burnout and frustration.

This signals respect for people, not just output.

Redesign Performance Culture

Replace annual/ 6-monthly reviews with continuous development and feedback cycles:

Weekly check-ins -- What’s working? What’s not?

Employee-driven goals shaped in partnership with leaders.

Recognize effort, adaptation, and contribution—not just deliverables.

Clarity becomes clarity in practice, not ambiguity dressed up as flexibility.

Train, Coach, Support Managers

Manager engagement matters most:

Only 44% of managers receive formal training. This must change. Prioritize training in:

Role clarity and expectation alignment

Ongoing communication and recognition habits

Adaptive leadership in hybrid dynamics

Supporting managers means supporting the entire organization.

Real Organizations Show What’s Possible

Gallup and Financial Times examples show that highly engaged teams, hitting up to 70% engagement, are not mythical.

These teams thrive on:

Intentional culture design

Consistent leadership connection

Flexibility paired with firm expectations

Leadership investment into personal development

Engagement is not an outcome—it’s a daily choice, driven by leadership.

Leadership Is Now Engagement Design

Employee disengagement isn’t just a workplace inconvenience; it is a leadership signal too long ignored.

Leaders must:

Rebuild culture deliberately

Communicate with clarity and transparency

Invest not just in systems, but in people

Redefine performance systems for real-time adaptability

Empower managers to lead better

These aren’t small tasks—but they are where modern leadership begins. And where meaningful change takes shape.

Where Are We In Pakistan?

Pakistan is among those countries where engagement is at its lowest in most places, rather active disengagement rules so apparently. At the national level, the people are completely disengaged from the political, social, cultural, economic leadership. They only have dashed hopes, negative feelings, bitter words, and resigned stances. 

At the organizational level, the same things reflect strongly. Employees do not trust their managers at any level, more so the ownership. They strongly believe they are being exploited because they are on the receiving end. As a reaction, they try to take due and undue benefits, steal time, resources, money, and any other thing they can, to take revenge for the poor treatment meted out to them. The occasional shows of solidarity by wearing same color polos and trousers, obscenely loud events to mark achievements through sheer exploitation, and strings of unnecessary promotions to pacify the staff does only what it can do – quell the unrest temporarily, till the next such event.

Unfortunately, no one is paying heed to the rot which is below the surface; the heaps of dishonest dealings, the blatant lies told every day at all levels, and the ever-growing greed to grab whatever can be grabbed.

Employee engagement in Pakistan is not even spoken anymore. The HR departments collude with line managers against employees for their own benefits. They have become a tool in the hands of management to perpetuate the worst exploitation in the name of modern HR practices. 

Right now, there is no light at the end of the tunnel.

Concluded.

Disclaimers: Pictures in these blogs are taken from free resources at Pexels, Pixabay, Unsplash, and Google. Credit is given where available. If a copyright claim is lodged, we shall remove the picture with appropriate regrets.

For most blogs, I research from several sources which are open to public. Their links are mentioned under references. There is no intent to infringe upon anyone’s copyrights. If, any claim is lodged, it will be acknowledged and recognized duly.

Reference:

https://www.gallup.com/workplace/692954/anemic-employee-engagement-points-leadership-challenges.aspx?utm_source=alert&utm_medium=email&utm_content=morelink&utm_campaign=syndication