CultureMonkey People ScienceQ2 2026 Edition

Employee engagement, rising and falling

Comparing full-year 2026 with 2025 across every industry, region and company size in CultureMonkey's data, 13 segments rose and 11 fell; the all-company average moved +0.06. Telecommunications is the biggest riser at +1.27, Education the biggest fall at −0.50.

Q2 2026 Edition
Biggest moves, 2025 to 2026
Telecommunications
+1.27
Micro (<100)
+0.48
Retail
+0.26
Agriculture
−0.36
Finance
−0.36
Education
−0.50
Full-year 2026 vs 2025, engagement 0-10 · three biggest rises and falls across every axis
▲︎ +1.27
Telecommunications, biggest rise 2025 to 2026
▼︎ −0.50
Education, biggest fall
25
segments with both years of data
Last updated August 2026 · Refreshed quarterly · 2026 is year-to-date through Q2 2026
Rose
13
segments up year over year
Fell
11
segments down
All companies
+0.06
2025 to 2026, 0-10
Compared
25
segments across 3 axes
01Every segment, one list

Who's rising, who's slipping

Full-year 2026 against 2025 for every industry, region and company size in CultureMonkey's data, on the 0-10 engagement scale. Filter by axis, sort by any column.

25 segments
Axis
TelecommunicationsIndustry7.368.63
▲︎ +1.27
+17.3%
Micro (<100)Company size8.098.57
▲︎ +0.48
+5.9%
RetailIndustry8.188.44
▲︎ +0.26
+3.2%
EnergyIndustry8.218.45
▲︎ +0.24
+2.9%
TechnologyIndustry8.028.26
▲︎ +0.24
+3%
North AmericaRegion7.928.12
▲︎ +0.20
+2.5%
HealthcareIndustry8.318.50
▲︎ +0.19
+2.3%
HospitalityIndustry8.198.37
▲︎ +0.18
+2.2%
ManufacturingIndustry8.078.24
▲︎ +0.17
+2.1%
SMB (100-500)Company size7.938.10
▲︎ +0.17
+2.1%
EuropeRegion7.697.77
▲︎ +0.08
+1%
LATAMRegion8.228.30
▲︎ +0.08
+1%
Mid-Market (500-2000)Company size8.228.24
▲︎ +0.02
+0.2%
Food and BeverageIndustry8.108.10
0.00
0%
APACRegion8.398.38
▼︎ −0.01
-0.1%
Enterprise (2000+)Company size8.398.29
▼︎ −0.10
-1.2%
Professional ServicesIndustry8.328.21
▼︎ −0.11
-1.3%
Creative and MediaIndustry7.947.82
▼︎ −0.12
-1.5%
Construction and Heavy IndustryIndustry8.087.90
▼︎ −0.18
-2.2%
MEARegion8.338.08
▼︎ −0.25
-3%
MiningIndustry8.428.13
▼︎ −0.29
-3.4%
Logistics and TransportationIndustry7.937.60
▼︎ −0.33
-4.2%
AgricultureIndustry8.187.82
▼︎ −0.36
-4.4%
FinanceIndustry8.528.16
▼︎ −0.36
-4.2%
EducationIndustry8.407.90
▼︎ −0.50
-6%
Change = 2026 minus 2025 · % = change as a share of the 2025 score · See our methodology ↓︎
02What's driving the move

The drivers behind the biggest rise and the biggest fall

For the top riser and the top faller, how each engagement driver moved over the same year. Where the headline number went, these are the levers that went with it.

Biggest rise · Telecommunications
▲︎ +1.27
7.36 →︎ 8.63
Industry · 2025 to 2026
1Communication
▲︎ +1.78
2Social Connection
▲︎ +0.64
3Autonomy
▲︎ +0.51

Drivers that rose most alongside the headline · driver score change, 0-10

Biggest fall · Education
▼︎ −0.50
8.40 →︎ 7.90
Industry · 2025 to 2026
1Work Environment
▼︎ −0.85
2Purpose Alignment
▼︎ −0.47
3Wellness
▼︎ −0.24
4Leadership
▼︎ −0.16
5Work-Life Balance
▼︎ −0.14

Drivers that fell most alongside the headline · driver score change, 0-10

03Five years of movement

The biggest movers, year by year

Yearly engagement (0-10) for the three biggest risers and two biggest fallers, 2021 to 2026. Hover for values; click a legend item to hide or show a line.

7.108.008.90202120222023202420252026Telecommunications 8.63Micro (<100) 8.57Retail 8.44Finance 8.16Education 7.90
04The whole picture

Every segment, every year

One row per segment, one cell per year, coloured by quartile across the whole grid. Read across a row for a segment's story; down a column for a year's.

Segment202120222023202420252026Change
Telecommunications · Industry
-
8.14
8.25
8.29
7.36
8.63
▲︎ +1.27
Micro (<100) · Company size
7.59
8.29
7.53
7.70
8.09
8.57
▲︎ +0.48
Retail · Industry
8.37
7.65
8.41
7.97
8.18
8.44
▲︎ +0.26
Energy · Industry
-
-
-
-
8.21
8.45
▲︎ +0.24
Technology · Industry
8.18
8.23
8.34
8.22
8.02
8.26
▲︎ +0.24
North America · Region
8.18
7.95
8.07
7.80
7.92
8.12
▲︎ +0.20
Healthcare · Industry
-
7.62
8.21
8.06
8.31
8.50
▲︎ +0.19
Hospitality · Industry
8.32
8.88
9.07
7.76
8.19
8.37
▲︎ +0.18
Manufacturing · Industry
8.06
8.19
8.29
7.71
8.07
8.24
▲︎ +0.17
SMB (100-500) · Company size
7.93
8.26
8.52
7.90
7.93
8.10
▲︎ +0.17
Europe · Region
8.75
7.87
8.30
7.75
7.69
7.77
▲︎ +0.08
LATAM · Region
7.50
7.60
8.30
8.23
8.22
8.30
▲︎ +0.08
Mid-Market (500-2000) · Company size
8.36
8.29
8.39
8.08
8.22
8.24
▲︎ +0.02
Food and Beverage · Industry
8.58
6.59
8.58
7.86
8.10
8.10
0.00
APAC · Region
8.11
8.27
8.48
8.25
8.39
8.38
▼︎ −0.01
Enterprise (2000+) · Company size
8.22
8.25
8.37
8.18
8.39
8.29
▼︎ −0.10
Professional Services · Industry
7.75
8.42
8.33
8.02
8.32
8.21
▼︎ −0.11
Creative and Media · Industry
-
9.20
7.80
7.45
7.94
7.82
▼︎ −0.12
Construction and Heavy Industry · Industry
8.05
8.16
7.67
8.01
8.08
7.90
▼︎ −0.18
MEA · Region
8.18
8.00
8.23
8.22
8.33
8.08
▼︎ −0.25
Mining · Industry
-
-
-
-
8.42
8.13
▼︎ −0.29
Logistics and Transportation · Industry
-
8.97
9.22
8.03
7.93
7.60
▼︎ −0.33
Agriculture · Industry
-
-
-
7.58
8.18
7.82
▼︎ −0.36
Finance · Industry
8.15
8.26
8.28
8.19
8.52
8.16
▼︎ −0.36
Education · Industry
-
-
7.52
7.30
8.40
7.90
▼︎ −0.50
top quartileabove medianbelow medianbottom quartileRelative to every cell shown
05The latest quarter

Quarter on quarter, Q2 2026

LATAM moved most last quarter (+0.57); Energy slipped most (−0.52). Quarters are noisier than years, so read these as early signals rather than trends.

SegmentAxisQoQ ↓︎Now (0-10)
LATAMRegion▲︎ +0.578.18
Food and BeverageIndustry▲︎ +0.517.94
HospitalityIndustry▲︎ +0.518.33
HealthcareIndustry▲︎ +0.258.25
AgricultureIndustry▲︎ +0.177.68
Mid-Market (500-2000)Company size▲︎ +0.168.08
APACRegion▲︎ +0.148.23
Creative and MediaIndustry▲︎ +0.107.82
Logistics and TransportationIndustry▲︎ +0.067.96
Construction and Heavy IndustryIndustry▲︎ +0.037.90
Micro (<100)Company size0.007.73
MEARegion▼︎ −0.068.13
ManufacturingIndustry▼︎ −0.087.96
North AmericaRegion▼︎ −0.097.90
Enterprise (2000+)Company size▼︎ −0.128.20
TechnologyIndustry▼︎ −0.138.05
Professional ServicesIndustry▼︎ −0.177.99
MiningIndustry▼︎ −0.208.23
SportIndustry▼︎ −0.218.36
SMB (100-500)Company size▼︎ −0.238.05
FinanceIndustry▼︎ −0.288.27
EducationIndustry▼︎ −0.306.98
EuropeRegion▼︎ −0.397.65
RetailIndustry▼︎ −0.428.04
EnergyIndustry▼︎ −0.528.15

Methodology

Year over year. Full-year 2026 (year to date through Q2 2026) versus full-year 2025, per segment, on the 0-10 engagement scale.
Quarter on quarter. Q2 2026 versus the previous quarter, per segment.
Drivers behind a move. For the biggest riser and faller, each of the 22 driver scores in 2026 minus 2025, ranked.
Source. Anonymised responses from CultureMonkey customers since 2021 Q3, refreshed quarterly.
Cite this data
CultureMonkey People Science (2026). Employee Engagement Momentum: Rising and Falling Segments, Q2 2026 Edition [Data set]. https://www.culturemonkey.io/benchmarks/employee-engagement-trends/ (updated August 2026).
Data verified by
CultureMonkey People Science

The research team behind these benchmarks. Every published figure is re-derived from the source survey data independently of the pipeline that builds these pages, then compared value by value. Nothing ships while a check disagrees.

5,725 checks passing~11M responsesVerified August 2026
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

01
Which segment gained the most engagement in 2026?

Telecommunications (industry) posted the largest year-over-year gain in CultureMonkey's Q2 2026 data, +1.27 on the 0-10 scale, from 7.36 in 2025 to 8.63 in 2026. The drivers that moved most alongside it were Communication (+1.78), Social Connection (+0.64), Autonomy (+0.51).

02
Which segment declined the most in 2026?

Education (industry) fell the most, −0.50 from 8.4 to 7.9. The drivers that slipped furthest with it were Work Environment (−0.85), Purpose Alignment (−0.47), Wellness (−0.24).

03
How is year-over-year movement measured?

Each segment's full-year 2026 average (year to date through Q2 2026) is compared with its full-year 2025 average, on the 0-10 engagement scale. Full years smooth out quarter-to-quarter noise; the quarter-on-quarter view further down uses Q2 2026 against the previous quarter.

04
Why compare across industries, regions and company sizes at once?

Movement is more visible in a wider pool. Pooling every segment across the three axes gives a single ranked list of what's rising and slipping, instead of three shorter lists that each hide the others' context.

By region
Employee Engagement by Region
APAC leads all 5 regions at 8.23 (0-10).
By size
Employee Engagement by Company Size
Enterprise leads engagement; Mid-Market leads eNPS.
By industry
Employee Engagement Scores by Industry
Sport leads all 18 industries at 8.36 (0-10).
Drivers
Driver Impact Rankings
All 22 drivers ranked by score and by how closely they move with eNPS.
eNPS
eNPS Benchmarks
Median eNPS is +27, the good zone. By industry, region and company size.
Tool
Percentile Comparison
Enter your score, see where you rank against benchmark companies.
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