Engagement in the U.S. workforce is ticking up overall, with the percentage of engaged employees sitting at 34% in mid-2023. While this shows a positive improvement from the rate of 32% just a year ago, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows. Aside from the engagement uptick, the connection to the mission and remote worker’s purpose has plummeted to a record low.

Why it matters: The latest Gallup survey shows that remote employees are losing their connection to their organization’s mission, with only 28% of remote employees strongly agreeing that they identify with it. To make matters worse, improvements in engagement have only come from on-site employees. Hybrid and exclusively remote employees have not improved overall.

• Gallup’s quarterly engagement survey measures employees’ opportunities for development, agreement around clarity of expectations, their opinions counting, and connection to the organization’s mission or purpose.

• U.S. remote workers cite better access to materials, clearer expectations, and more opportunities for peak performance, thus showing an overall improvement in the basic elements of employee engagement. However, many employees are developing “gig-like” relationships with their employers. This is due to a lack of focus on a common mission.

• Remote workers can still work with exceptional managers who are purposeful in developing and maintaining relationships with their remote employees. Managers should engage in a meaningful 15-to-30-minute conversation with each employee to maintain their connection to the organization and establish the link between their work and its impact on the company at large.

Go Deeper —> Are Remote Workers and Their Organizations Drifting Apart?