Which industries saw the biggest increase in employee engagement in 2025?

Education had the largest gain globally at +7.68%, rising from 3.548 in Q1 2025 to 3.820 in Q1 2026. Construction & Heavy Industry gained +1.84% (3.770 → 3.839) and Healthcare improved +1.77% (4.072 → 4.144). Retail also improved +1.28%. These gains were driven primarily by improvements in Leadership (+1.50% globally) and Involvement (+1.51% globally) across all regions.

Which industries showed the biggest decline in employee engagement in 2026?

Creative & Media recorded the largest decline at –7.50% (4.593 → 4.249), though it remains above the global average. Telecom declined –2.18% (4.087 → 3.998) across 3 consecutive quarters, falling below 4.0 for the first time. Entertainment & Recreation fell –1.87% (4.393 → 4.311). Technology declined –0.42% (4.072 → 4.055). In all declining sectors, Wellness and Recognition scores fell first — they are leading indicators of overall engagement decline.

Is employee engagement going up or down globally in 2025–2026?

Neither — it is diverging. The global median rose slightly from 4.022 to 4.036, but the spread between the highest and lowest industry narrowed dramatically from 1.045 points in Q1 2025 to 0.514 points in Q1 2026. Lagging industries like Education (+7.68%) are catching up, while former leaders like Creative & Media (–7.50%) are declining. The aggregate numbers are stable, but the underlying distribution is shifting significantly.

Which engagement driver is improving the fastest globally?

Involvement is the fastest-improving engagement driver globally at +1.51% YoY, followed by Leadership at +1.50% and Meaningful Work at +1.47%. These three drivers are closely correlated with the industries showing the biggest engagement gains — Education, Construction, and Healthcare all show above-average improvements in Leadership and Involvement. Wellness is the fastest-declining driver at –0.74% YoY.

Why did Creative and Media employee engagement drop so sharply in 2025–2026?

Creative & Media fell –7.50% from 4.593 in Q1 2025 to 4.249 in Q1 2026 — the largest single-year industry decline in this dataset. The primary drivers are: (1) Wellness scores declined sharply, likely reflecting burnout in creative roles following industry restructuring; (2) Recognition scores fell significantly, suggesting acknowledgment practices weakened as teams contracted; (3) North America Creative & Media specifically declined –2.43%, the steepest regional-industry fall in the dataset. The sector still scores above the global average (4.012) but the trajectory requires attention.

How does CultureMonkey calculate engagement growth rates by industry?

CultureMonkey computes industry engagement growth as the percentage change in the aggregated mean score from Q1 2025 to Q1 2026: ((Q1 2026 score – Q1 2025 score) / |Q1 2025 score|) × 100. All scores are derived from anonymized survey responses aggregated at the industry level across all regions and company sizes present in CultureMonkey's platform. The 2025–2026 dataset covers 1,247 organizations and 10M+ responses.

Features Features

Industries Industries

Resources Resources

Science Science

Pricing Pricing

Employee Engagement Momentum Report 2025–2026

Employee Engagement Is Diverging: Rising Stars and Falling Leaders, 2025–2026

Name: Employee Engagement Trends 2025–2026 | CultureMonkey
Creator: CultureMonkey
Published: 2026-01-01

Education surged +7.68% while Creative & Media fell –7.50%. Across 15 industries, engagement is not rising or falling globally — it is splitting. From CultureMonkey's dataset of 10M+ anonymized survey responses.

10,200,000 responses8 industrys3 quarters

Get the Full Trends Benchmark Report

Cross-Industry Engagement Dashboard

4.04

Median

+7.68% Education YoY

4.01

Average

–7.50% Creative & Media YoY

4.33

Top Industry

Hospitality

4.33

Healthcare

4.14

Finance

4.04

Food & Beverage

4.03

Retail

4.07

Technology

4.05

Manufacturing

3.94

Education

3.82

"The spread between the highest-scoring and lowest-scoring industry narrowed from 1.045 points in Q1 2025 to 0.514 points in Q1 2026 — lagging industries are catching up while early leaders are pulling back."

+7.68%

Education — biggest industry gainer, Q1 2025–Q1 2026

–7.50%

Creative & Media — biggest industry decliner

–2.18%

Telecom decline — 3 consecutive quarters of loss

0.514

industry spread in Q1 2026, down from 1.045 in Q1 2025

Reading the Numbers

What Does Your Engagement Score Mean?

Every score tells a story. Use this decoder to understand where any industry sits relative to the global benchmark — and what action is warranted.

4.5 – 5.0ExceptionalEmployees are genuinely thriving. Fewer than 15% of drivers globally reach this level.

4.0 – 4.49HealthyThings are working well — don't get complacent. Top 40% of organisations globally.

3.5 – 3.99Watch CloselyEmployees are lukewarm. Research shows 2x passive job-hunting risk in this band.

3.0 – 3.49Action RequiredEmployees are frustrated and likely disengaged. Absenteeism and quality issues emerge.

Below 3.0Crisis ZoneSystemic retention and health crisis. Problems are experienced daily, not occasionally.

The cross-industry median of 4.04 sits in the Healthy band.

Cross-Industry Engagement Benchmarks at a Glance

Key Engagement Metrics, Q1 2026

The cross-industry median Engagement is 4.04, with the highest industry score at 4.33. The average Engagement is 4.01, based on 10,200,000 survey responses across 1247 participating companies.

StrengthEducation gained +7.68% — the largest single-year industry engagement gain in this dataset.

WatchTechnology and Professional Services are both declining slowly — 3 consecutive quarters of negative momentum.

Act nowCreative & Media (–7.50%) and Telecom (–2.18%) are declining sharply and need structural intervention.

Industry Scores

Hospitality

4.33

Healthcare

4.14

Retail

4.07

Technology

4.05

Finance

4.04

Food & Beverage

4.03

Manufacturing

3.94

Education

3.82

What Drives Engagement

Engagement Drivers by Industry

Engagement is shaped by six core drivers. The scores below show how each industry performs on each dimension — revealing where the gaps lie and where intervention has the highest leverage.

Involvement is the fastest-improving driver globally at +1.51% YoY — employees want more say in decisions, and organizations that act on this see strong engagement momentum.

Hospitality

4.28

Finance

4.12

Technology

4.05

Healthcare

4.02

Education

3.82

StrengthInvolvement (+1.51%) and Leadership (+1.50%) are the bright spots — improving globally across all regions.

WatchRecognition declining (–0.09%) is a signal that manager behavior and acknowledgment culture are weakening.

Act nowWellness declining –0.74% is the steepest named driver decline — and the strongest predictor of future overall engagement drops.

Cross-Industry Engagement Across Recent Quarters

Quarterly Trends: Median, Average & Extremes

Monitor Cross-Industry Engagement evolution across 3 recent quarters — median and average scores reveal whether engagement is improving, declining, or holding steady.

StrengthThe global median improved from 4.022 to 4.036 — overall health is stable despite distribution shifts.

WatchThe top-end max fell dramatically: from 4.593 to 4.334 — former leaders are declining toward the mean.

Act nowWellness declining –0.74% globally is the leading indicator of broader engagement problems — address it before it compounds.

Regional Engagement Comparison

Engagement Distribution by Region

How employees are distributed across engagement bands varies significantly by region. Asia Pacific leads in healthy engagement concentration; MEA carries the highest proportion of at-risk scores.

StrengthNorth America Hospitality gained +4.44% — the highest regional-industry growth rate in the dataset.

WatchEurope Professional Services declined –0.68% — a consistent drag on European regional scores.

Act nowAPAC Logistics fell –4.63% — the steepest regional-industry decline after Creative & Media's sector-wide drop.

Engagement Growth & Momentum Signals

Growth, Stability & At-Risk Industrys

Quarter-to-quarter momentum reveals which industrys are accelerating and which need immediate attention.

Education

3.82

+7.7%Growth

Accelerating

Construction

3.84

+1.8%Growth

Accelerating

Healthcare

4.14

+1.8%Growth

Accelerating

Finance

4.04

+0.4%Steady

Stable

Retail

4.07

+1.3%Steady

Stable

Manufacturing

3.94

+0.3%Steady

Stable

Food & Beverage

4.03

+0.1%Steady

Stable

Hospitality

4.33

+0.2%Steady

Stable

Agriculture

3.85

+0.3%Watch

Stable

Logistics & Trans

3.89

-0.1%Watch

Stable

Professional Svcs

4.02

-0.1%Watch

Declining

Technology

4.05

-0.4%Watch

Declining

Entertainment

4.31

-1.9%Risk

Declining

Telecom

4.00

-2.2%Risk

Declining

Creative & Media

4.25

-7.5%Risk

Declining

Strength8 of 15 industries are improving or stable — the majority of the global workforce is in positive engagement territory.

WatchTechnology's –0.42% decline is small in absolute terms but significant given its talent competition context.

Act nowTelecom has declined for 3 consecutive quarters — at this trajectory, it falls below 3.9 within 2 survey cycles.

Engagement Growth Over Time by Region

Quarterly Engagement Trajectory by Region

Track how each region's Engagement score has evolved across quarters, revealing divergence or convergence in employee experience.

StrengthEducation's recovery curve (3.548 → 3.583 → 3.820) is accelerating — each quarter showed larger gains.

WatchCreative & Media stabilized slightly in Q1 2026 (4.257 → 4.249) after a sharp Q3 2025 drop (4.593 → 4.257) — a possible floor.

Act nowTelecom's decline is consistent across all 3 quarters with no sign of reversal — structural intervention is needed now.

How Industries Stack Up: Engagement Rankings

Industry Engagement Leaderboard

Engagement scores across all 15 tracked industries. Hospitality leads at 4.33.

RankIndustryEngagement

Hospitality

4.33

Healthcare

4.14

Retail

4.07

Finance

4.04

Food & Beverage

4.03

Technology

4.05

Professional Services

4.02

Manufacturing

3.94

Logistics & Transportation

3.89

Agriculture

3.85

Construction

3.84

Education

3.82

Telecom

4.00

Entertainment & Recreation

4.31

Creative & Media

4.25

StrengthHospitality retained its top rank (4.334) despite a 0.16% gain — its lead over Healthcare (4.144) widened in Q1 2026.

WatchHealthcare jumped from rank 6 to rank 2 over this period — a remarkable rise driven by Leadership and Involvement gains.

Act nowTelecom fell below 4.0 for the first time in this dataset — it has dropped from rank 5 to rank 13 in one year.

Data Methodology

How This Benchmark Was Built

Sample Size

10,000,000+

anonymized employee survey responses

Collection Period

January 2024 – March 2026

rolling 12-month averages

Scale

5-point Likert

5-point Likert scale (1 = Strongly Disagree, 5 = Strongly Agree); all scores are aggregated means

Geography

Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Middle East & Africa

15 industries with full 3-quarter time series; growth % is computed as ((Q1 2026 – Q1 2025) / |Q1 2025|) × 100

All data is fully anonymized at individual and organizational level. No commissioned panels. No synthetic data.

More Benchmark Data

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Cross-Industry Engagement — Common Questions

Frequently Asked Questions

Unlock Deeper Insights

Get The Comprehensive Engagement Report

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+7.68%

Education engagement gain (Q1 2025–Q1 2026)

–7.50%

Creative & Media engagement decline

1,247

companies benchmarked

industries with full time-series data

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