For years, organizations have focused on employee engagement as a key indicator of workplace health. But according to Gallup’s latest research, manager burnout may be the more urgent challenge. As managers face increasing workloads, broader spans of control, and mounting pressure to lead through change, their engagement is declining. The consequences of manager burnout could reshape hiring, retention, succession planning, and leadership development strategies for years to come.
The data from State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report reveal a troubling trend. Global manager engagement has fallen from 31% in 2022 to just 22% in 2025, including a five-point decline in the last year alone. In many organizations, managers no longer enjoy the “engagement premium” they once had and are becoming nearly as disengaged as the employees they lead.
When Managers Reach Their Limits
Managers are at the center of organizational performance. They drive engagement, develop future leaders, support culture initiatives, and help teams navigate change. When managers become overwhelmed or disengaged, the impact extends far beyond their individual performance.
Gallup’s findings suggest that organizational flattening may be contributing to the problem. In some regions, companies are reducing management layers and increasing spans of control, leaving fewer leaders responsible for more people. As teams grow larger and responsibilities increase, managers have less time to coach employees, develop talent, and build engagement.
The emotional toll is becoming increasingly visible.
While leaders generally report higher overall wellbeing than individual contributors, they are significantly more likely to experience stress, anger, sadness, and loneliness. Gallup found that leaders report stress levels seven percentage points higher than individual contributors, along with elevated feelings of anger, sadness, and loneliness. Managers globally are more likely than non-managers to experience stress during their workdays.
A Growing Risk to the Leadership Pipeline
Burned-out managers are more likely to leave leadership roles, less likely to effectively develop successors, and less able to create the workplace cultures that attract and retain top talent. When leadership benches weaken, organizations often find themselves scrambling to fill critical management positions, especially during periods of growth or transformation.
Recruiters are uniquely positioned to help clients address this challenge before it becomes a crisis.
Rather than focusing solely on technical qualifications or industry experience, recruiters increasingly need to evaluate leadership resilience, coaching ability, adaptability, and people-development skills. Organizations that invest in hiring managers who can lead through uncertainty will be better positioned to retain talent and maintain performance.
What High-Performing Organizations Do Differently
The good news is that manager burnout is not inevitable. Gallup found that in best-practice organizations, 79% of managers remain engaged, nearly four times the global average. These organizations prioritize manager development, employee engagement, and long-term leadership effectiveness as strategic business priorities rather than HR initiatives.
The lesson for employers is clear: strengthening the leadership pipeline starts with supporting the managers already in place and hiring leaders equipped for today’s workplace realities.
As organizations navigate economic uncertainty, workforce transformation, and rapid technological change, the next talent shortage may not be a shortage of workers. It may be a shortage of engaged, capable managers ready to lead them.