The Great Detachment: How Leaders Can Reconnect Teams
The numbers are in, and they're not pretty. According to Gallup's 2025 State of the Global Workplace report, global employee engagement has dropped to 21%-the lowest since the pandemic.
That's $438 billion in lost productivity. Money you're never going to get back.
But here's the kicker: it's not just frontline employees. Manager engagement is tanking even faster, falling from 30% to 27% in a single year. Yikes!!!
Managers aren't just another rung on the org chart-they're the engine. When managers disengage, teams follow. Think about it. If your boss is giving off vibes that they could care less, then why would you give more at work than you must?
Gallup found that countries with less engaged managers have less engaged employees, period.
And it's the younger and female managers who are feeling it most, with engagement drops of 5 and 7 percentage points respectively.
A number of simultaneous factors are driving the 'Great Detachment.' They include the following:
Here's the playbook:
You can't afford to ignore manager engagement. By integrating these strategies, you can address the root causes of disengagement and foster a culture where managers and their team members feel heard, valued, and motivated to do their best work.
Gallup's recent findings make it clear: engagement hinges on trust, growth, and genuine connection-especially in tumultuous times.
Keep in mind that re-engaging your workforce isn't just about boosting productivity; it's about creating a culture where people thrive. The strategies outlined here are proven, but they require commitment and leadership.
The ROI is huge, so don't delay. Take action today.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Bloomberg
23 minutes ago
- Bloomberg
Bloomberg Surveillance TV: August 15th, 2025
- Binky Chadha, Chief US Equity & Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank - Eddie Fishman, Professor at Columbia University - Marc Sumerlin, Managing Partner and founder at Evenflow Macro - Veronica Clark, Director: Research at Citi Binky Chadha, Chief US Equity & Global Strategist at Deutsche Bank, joins to discuss his S&P target and outlook for equities amid policy and global uncertainty. Eddie Fishman, Professor at Columbia University, previews the Trump-Putin summit in Alaska. Marc Sumerlin, Managing Partner and founder at Evenflow Macro, discusses the latest on the Fed and chair candidates. Veronica Clark, Director: Research at Citi, offers her outlook on markets, the economy, and inflation.
Entrepreneur
25 minutes ago
- Entrepreneur
Why Pay Monthly for Microsoft Office When You Can Pay $50 Once?
Disclosure: Our goal is to feature products and services that we think you'll find interesting and useful. If you purchase them, Entrepreneur may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our commerce partners. Those who run a business know how quickly monthly software subscriptions add up. That's why this Microsoft Office Professional 2021 lifetime license is a game-changer for entrepreneurs, managers, and anyone who depends on a rock-solid productivity suite with uninterrupted access. For just $49.97 (MSRP: $219.99), you'll get Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Teams, OneNote, Publisher, and Access — installed on one Windows PC for life. No recurring fees. No renewal notices. Just the apps you need, ready whenever you are. Whether you're creating client proposals in Word, building budgets in Excel, presenting strategies in PowerPoint, managing your calendar in Outlook, or even designing marketing materials in Publisher, this is the professional-grade toolkit that keeps your business moving forward. Unlike cloud-only alternatives, Microsoft Office Professional 2021 gives you the flexibility to work exactly how you want — whether you're on a plane finishing a proposal, in a client meeting reviewing spreadsheets, or in the office fine-tuning a presentation. And because it's installed directly on your PC, you won't lose access to critical files or features if your internet connection drops. That's the kind of reliability every business leader needs. And because you own it outright, you never have to worry about losing access during a busy season or watching subscription costs creep up. This one-time payment gets you the same robust, offline-ready Microsoft Office apps trusted by Fortune 500 companies — but without the ongoing cost. If your business runs on documents, spreadsheets, and presentations, there's no reason to keep paying month after month when you can own your Office apps for life. Get lifetime access to Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for just $49.97 (MSRP: $219.99) while you still can. Microsoft Office Professional 2021 for Windows: Lifetime License See Deal StackSocial prices subject to change.
Fast Company
25 minutes ago
- Fast Company
How CTOs can capture the $750 billion AI opportunity
Those of us who lead development teams already know how deeply AI has transformed the way innovation happens. Now there are numbers to quantify how big of an impact it's having. AI-powered software innovation is generating savings of $28,249 per developer annually, according to GitLab's 2025 executive research report, which surveyed thousands of C-level executives from around the world. Applying this to the world's 27 million developers means that AI has the potential to unlock more than $750 billion in global value annually. With savings like that, it's no wonder C-Suite leaders are on board with AI's potential to drive greater efficiency in software innovation. Nine out of ten executives (91%) say that software innovation is now a core business priority for their organization. But there's still room to grow. While executives aspire to build human-AI partnerships that split software development work 50-50, the majority report that AI is currently only handling about 25% of the work. To help operationalize AI among development teams, leaders must effectively communicate and frame its value and connect development activities to business outcomes by focusing on problem-solving capabilities and direct business impact rather than code volume. This shift in thinking will be critical to fully realizing AI's potential. AI isn't eliminating developer jobs. However, it is fundamentally changing what those jobs require and how executives need to lead and structure teams to capitalize on this massive opportunity. The organizations capturing AI value share three critical traits: They have the right CTO strategy with relentless customer focus They're applying platform thinking to enable their teams to scale more effectively with AI They're investing in team structures and upskilling to help their developers reap the benefits of AI LEVERAGE THE RIGHT TECHNICAL LEADERS With 82% of C-suite leaders willing to invest over half of their IT budgets in software innovation, it's clear that this is the moment for technical leaders to shine. I've found throughout my career that CTOs come in several different styles, and companies need varying styles of technical leadership at different points in their evolution. There are three CTO styles: builder, strategist, and guardian. Builders Builder CTOs excel at innovating with AI, establishing core technical architecture and developing innovative products while constantly validating their assumptions with customer feedback. Builder CTOs are ideal for smaller, high-growth companies, and those that are earlier in their AI journeys. Strategists Strategist CTOs shine when companies mature, combining deep technical acumen and business knowledge to build platforms, develop long-term visions, cultivate strategic partnerships, and position the company for long-term, scalable growth. The strategist CTO can help make AI into a permanent, value-additive component of the company's strategic platform. Guardian Guardian CTOs excel at helping companies with complex IT infrastructures and large customer bases maintain stability, security and operational efficiency. They are the right fit for companies whose priorities include implementing governance and security measures around AI, as well as establishing AI processes and standards to maximize efficiency and cost savings. Success in AI-powered software innovation requires leadership that can identify targeted AI applications, translate them into customer value and enable teams to focus on higher-value work. EMBRACE PLATFORM THINKING FOR SCALE As organizations grow, teams specialize in focusing on specific challenges, but with more teams, coordination among them can become inefficient. By the time an organization reaches the tens of thousands, those divisions often turn into silos that can hinder effective collaboration among humans and prevent the organization from realizing the benefits of human-AI collaboration. In my experience, the most effective CTOs are implementing platform-based approaches to set their companies up for scalable growth without creating silos. The most common way is to establish a centralized team that's responsible for building a platform that product teams across the organization can use. This team's primary purpose is to automate mundane tasks and provide streamlined workflows for all software innovation teams throughout the organization—a role that AI can enhance. CTOs may need to establish specialized teams to support a complicated subsystem required by the rest of the organization. An organization with a complex need, such as evaluating fraud risk in new customers or solving supply-chain complexities in real time, might organize a team dedicated to supporting that as an AI-powered 'subsystem' that the rest of the company can use. Setting up software teams for success in the AI era means letting humans focus on work that AI can't do well. Although AI can assist with many software development tasks like coding, it cannot define the 'why' behind a project. Engineers who can translate business needs into technical solutions and anticipate future trends will be invaluable. Those who can combine technical skills with critical thinking skills will be better able to guide AI technologies and realize the productivity gains of human-AI partnerships. Training in specific AI-related skills, such as prompt engineering and data management, will be crucial. Human contributions that will matter the most are creativity, strategic vision, and collaboration. However, there's a significant perception gap to address. A recent GitLab DevSecOps report found that 25% of individual contributors reported that their organizations don't provide adequate AI training, compared to only 15% of C-level executives who shared the same sentiment. Forward-thinking CTOs will frame upskilling as an investment in the human-AI partnership that will deliver competitive advantages. THE FUTURE STILL NEEDS HUMAN INNOVATORS The $750 billion opportunity represented by AI-powered software innovation won't materialize automatically. Taking advantage of the power of AI requires appropriate leadership, platform thinking, and upskilling in a way that enables humans to focus on what they do best while letting AI manage and automate mundane tasks. AI is changing the software development landscape, but it's not eliminating the need for skilled engineers. Instead, it's shifting the focus toward higher-value work that requires human judgment, ingenuity, and strategic thinking. Over time, human software innovators will be able to focus increasingly on the work that drives competitive advantage. Companies embracing AI-powered innovation can then transform themselves and their industries in unforeseen ways.
