Employee engagement is a great predictor of many things — employee retention, morale, productivity and performance. It’s for reasons such as this that so many companies invest in employee engagement programmes and strategies to keep levels up. However, despite the good intentions of many companies across the UK and the world, employee engagement continues to be a struggle on the whole.

A yearly report* into employee engagement and the factors that are affecting it reveals that, once again, employee engagement within the UK has dropped. The paper* shows a continued decline across key engagement drivers, particularly leadership, feedback and communication. Leadership scores have suffered the sharpest drop, while feedback and communication — which are, of course, critical to nurturing and sustaining a connected and motivated workforce — remain below pre-pandemic levels.

With engagement falling from 80% in 2023 to 78% in 2024, the numbers highlight a growing challenge for companies striving to maintain a motivated workforce. Let’s take a look at the underlying factors.

Leadership Perceptions Continue to Decline

Leadership, as always, remains a critical and contentious issue, with the report showing a further slide in perceptions of senior leaders. In fact, leadership has now overtaken reward as the lowest-scoring element of employee engagement (other elements including purpose, enablement and autonomy)

Key findings include:

• Only 56% of employees believe senior leaders make the effort to listen to staff — down from 65% in 2023.
• Just 58% feel senior leaders provide a clear vision of the organisation’s direction, a steep drop from 70% in 2020.
• While open communication across all levels saw a modest improvement from 56% in 2023 to 60% in 2024, it remains well below the 65% peak in 2021.

These figures indicate that leaders are struggling to meet rising employee expectations. Employees increasingly look for transparency, authenticity and a sense of purpose from their leaders. Unfortunately, the data suggests these needs are not being met. The shift to hybrid working has added further complexity, making it harder for leaders to build trust and communicate a compelling vision.

Feedback Scores Show Mixed Progress

Feedback remains a basic driver of engagement — after all, we all like to know we’re doing things the right way, and we like to be acknowledged when we’re doing things well. Going above and beyond can become trying and unrewarding when our efforts go unnoticed. However, the trends report data suggests inconsistencies in how managers provide feedback. While some improvement has been made, scores remain below 2020 levels in several key areas.

• Regular feedback on performance rose to 69% in 2024, up from 67% in 2023, but still below 73% in 2020.
• Coaching and skill development by managers declined slightly, from 66% in 2023 to 64% in 2024.
• Employee opinions being sought on decisions that affect their work improved to 64% in 2024, but remain below the 69% recorded in 2020.

The data highlights a gap between what employees need from their managers and what they are receiving. Coaching and regular feedback are essential for development and motivation, yet many employees feel they are not receiving enough guidance.

Communication Challenges Persist

Clear, open communication is of course important for creating and maintaining an engaged, dynamic and motivated workforce, yet scores in this area have continued to lag.

• Cross-team communication has been steadily declining, falling from 48% in 2020 to just 41% in 2024.
• Access to resources and equipment needed to do the job properly declined from 73% in 2022 to 71% in 2024.
• Work-life balance perceptions have improved slightly, rising from 68% in 2023 to 69% in 2024, but still remain below the 72% peak in 2022.

The data suggests that many employees feel isolated or disconnected from the wider organisation. With hybrid working now firmly embedded in many businesses, ensuring employees feel informed and involved is a growing challenge. Communication gaps across teams, unclear expectations and a lack of visibility into company priorities all contribute to lower engagement.

The findings from the recent trends report underscore the need for a renewed focus on leadership, feedback and communication. The decline in these areas is not just a reflection of economic or structural challenges, but a signal that employees expect more from their organisations.

Improving engagement requires more than one-off initiatives. Employees want to feel heard, supported and connected to a purpose. Regular employee listening can help organisations understand what truly influences engagement. More importantly, acting on this feedback in a meaningful way will determine whether engagement rebounds or continues to slide in the years ahead.

For organisations willing to invest in these areas, there is an opportunity to turn these challenges into progress. Those that prioritise employee experience, leadership visibility and a culture of open feedback will be best placed to create workplaces where people feel valued and motivated.

*People Insight – 2025 Employee Engagement Trends,