Why India at work is disengaged and on edge amid rising distress

Gallup poll flags a steep fall in workplace engagement, rising emotional distress

For Corporate India, emerging workplace trends could be a serious cause for concern.

 

A global poll by Gallup in its State of the Global Workplace 2026, titled The Human Side of the AI Revolution, released late last week, shows that South Asia — primarily led by India — saw a steep 5 percentage point (pp) year-on-year decline in “employee engagement”, the largest fall across any region in the world.

 

The steady decline in engagement is reflected in the data: in 2025, only 21 per cent of employees said they were engaged at work, compared to 26 per cent in 2024 and a peak of 29 per cent in 2023. A large majority — 59 per cent of respondents in 2025 — said they were not engaged, while 20 per cent said they were “not actively engaged”.

 

In 2025, South Asia, led by India, also saw a sharper 8 pp decline in “manager engagement” — again, the largest drop across regions. Gallup suggests this may be due to companies cutting management roles, especially as information technology recruitment slowed and senior and middle management positions were reduced, partly driven by artificial intelligence adoption. 

 

The survey, conducted in 2025, covers 160 countries and includes 263,810 respondents, of whom 141,000 are employed. They were surveyed through phone and in-person interviews. It spans 10 regions, including the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe, post-Soviet Eurasia, the Middle East and North Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa, East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, and Australia and New Zealand.

 

South Asia, led by India, also ranked highest globally for negative workplace experiences. About 31 per cent of respondents reported daily anger, compared to a global average of 22 per cent in 2025. Daily sadness was reported by 36 per cent (versus a global average of 22 per cent), while 28 per cent reported loneliness (against a global average of 22 per cent).

 

However, confidence in finding new jobs is relatively muted. South Asia ranks eighth among the 10 regions. Southeast Asia tops the list, with 64 per cent of respondents saying they are likely to look for a new job, followed by Australia and New Zealand and Latin America and the Caribbean (60 per cent). In South Asia, the figure is 48 per cent.

 

India again ranks lowest among the 10 regions on “life evaluation”. Respondents were asked to rate their lives on a scale of zero (worst possible) to 10 (best possible). Gallup’s findings show that only 16 per cent of respondents said they were “thriving” — the lowest among all regions and far below the global average of 34 per cent.

 

In contrast, Southeast Asia presents a more stable workplace picture. Manager engagement remains above the global average, holding steady at 25 per cent rather than declining sharply as seen in India. Daily stress is also the lowest globally at 25 per cent. The region reports lower levels of daily anger, sadness, and loneliness than both the global average and South Asia.