‘The Big Money Show’ panel responds to new data showing that Gen Z hiring has collapsed, while older workers are staying in the workforce longer.
A new report from Gallup shows that American workers are less optimistic about… working climate and their level of commitment to their current job has remained relatively flat.
Gallup published its 2026 State of the Global Workplace report on Wednesday, which found that while 51% of global workers think it’s a good time to quality jobsentiment among US workers fell to 28% in the fourth quarter of 2025.
That figure represents a notable decline from 46% in Q4 2024, and continues a steep downward trend from 70% in Q2 2022.
MORE US EMPLOYEES CONCERN FOR THE FIRST TIME: POLL
Gallup’s report showed declining engagement among U.S. employees, along with lower engagement. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images)
“The working environment, just in terms of people’s freedom, they feel stuck where they are. Part of the solution to that is that organizations have to get better at driving systems for really solid performance management and good communication between managers and employees” said Harter.
When employees feel stuck and have no choice about finding another quality job, Harter says their “engagement will decrease, and active disengagement will begin to increase as people have no choice because they are stuck in jobs they don’t want.”
Employees who said they were looking for a new job reported not getting much response, even after applying for multiple jobs, Gallup found.
“We’re seeing people apply, but they’re just not getting a lot of response. There’s just not a lot out there in terms of recruitment right now,” Harter said. “It’s just not a great time right now in terms of hiring, and again, unemployment is quite lowso people have jobs, but they are jobs that they don’t consider high-quality jobs.”
US WORKER WAGES TO GAIN MOMENTUM IN MARCH DESPITE STRONG RECRUITMENT, ECONOMISTS SAY
Workers actively looking for new jobs are having a hard time getting a response, Harter said. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
Harter noted that among respondents who say they can do multiple things, their perception of the work climate was more favorable.
“I think there is a big factor in terms of upskilling related to AI that could be a big part of people being able to find jobs in the future,” he added.
The report’s findings also showed conditions that Gallup has dubbed the “Great Detachment,” in which people are actively looking for work or seeking job openings while also reporting low levels of satisfaction with their current employer.
“Even though employees have less choice when it comes to leaving their employer to go somewhere else, there is psychological turnover, which means they don’t do everything they can to help the organization improve,” Harter said.
THE US economy added 178,000 jobs in March, well above expectations
Highly successful organizations have higher levels of employee engagement, Harter noted. (Joe Raedle/Getty Images)
The report also shows that the three-year rolling average of engaged employees fell by one point to 31%, with 52% of employees disengaged and 17% actively disengaged. At 31%, engagement among US employees is at its lowest level since 2014, while the share of actively disengaged employees was also at 2014 levels at 17%.
In contrast, Harter said the top organizations have 70% or more of their employees engaged managers involved to an even greater extent.
“If you look closely at organizations that are doing really great work right now, they’re figuring out ways to make it happen,” he said. “They’re actually upskilling their managers, they’re putting people in the right leadership role. That helps when you flatten the organization and people can have a greater scope of control as managers. They help people see how their work fits into the larger purpose of the organization.”
GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE
“What we’re talking about here is very solvable, but it’s an uphill battle right now where leaders have to be very intentional about what they’re doing with their staff and especially their managers, and how they prepare to coach people on a regular basis and make people feel like they’re part of what the organization as a whole is trying to get done,” Harter added.
