A third of employees report decreased engagement at work, according to new survey

(Photo: Josep Suria/Adobe Stock)

It’s the future many executives worried about when they allowed employees to work remotely: according to a new survey by The Conference Board, engagement is down for almost a third of all employees compared to six months ago, and lower engagement is especially common amongst women, Millennials, and individual workers. But this lowered engagement isn’t for the reasons you might think.

Although bosses traditionally worry about remote work spurring disengagement, the survey shows engagement was down for workers at a variety of different work locations, including fully remote workers, hybrid workers, and in-office employees, according to a press release. That means there’s no evidence that remote or flexible work schedules are at fault. In fact, the exact reasons for the dip remain unclear, although the survey shows a variety of trends that could connect to reduced engagement, including dips in mental health and sense of belonging for more than a third of workers.