For years, companies have tried to boost employee engagement from the bottom up. They survey workers, invest in wellness programs, and encourage leaders to check in more often.
But engagement rarely rises or falls because of initiatives aimed at frontline employees. It rises and falls with managers.
Today’s managers are carrying a level of strain that looks very different from even a decade ago. Their role no longer centers on supervising work. They are expected to translate shifting priorities, navigate uncertainty, coach employees through stress, and keep teams aligned even as demands change around them.
The problem is not simply that there is more work. It’s that the expectations of the role have expanded far faster than the support systems around it.
We see the consequences of this in the data. Global employee engagement slipped to 21% recently1, but manager engagement fell even more sharply, marking the steepest decline of any employee group.That matters because managers sit at the center of workplace experience. They account for roughly 70% of the difference in how engaged teams feel2.
When managers begin to struggle, the effects ripple quickly. Decisions slow. Conversations become more transactional. Initiative fades. Work still gets done, but the energy behind it begins to thin.
Over time, that loss of energy shows up in tangible ways. Teams with lower engagement tend to see weaker productivity, lower profitability, and significantly higher turnover.
The encouraging reality is that this pattern is reversible. Organizations that provide focused support to managers consistently see stronger engagement and better performance outcomes across teams.
Four areas, in particular, tend to make the greatest difference.
Reduce cognitive load and restore clarity
The daily experience of managing today is defined by fragmentation. A typical day might begin with urgent emails, shift to an unexpected priority change, move into a difficult employee conversation, and end with reporting requirements that leave little time to think. Each demand is reasonable on its own. Together, they create constant mental switching that drains focus and judgment. Under sustained pressure, leadership behavior narrows. Communication becomes shorter. Patience declines. Some managers respond by tightening control, while others disengage. These are normal human reactions, but over time they erode trust within teams. Organizations can reduce this strain in straightforward ways. Clarifying priorities is often the most powerful step. When managers are responsible for too many competing objectives, they struggle to provide direction. When expectations are clear, alignment becomes easier. Reducing unnecessary administrative work also helps. Many managers spend significant time on reporting tasks that add little value but consume attention that could otherwise be directed toward leadership. Equally important is protecting time to think. Managers who have space to reflect tend to make better decisions and respond more thoughtfully under pressure.Strengthen people leadership skills
Most managers are promoted because they excel at technical work, but few receive preparation for the interpersonal demands that quickly become central to the role. Yet it’s these everyday leadership behaviors that shape engagement most strongly. Managers influence whether employees feel respected, whether expectations are clear, and whether concerns are addressed early. They determine whether conversations are honest or avoided. Organizations often underestimate how much simple, practical guidance can help. Clear frameworks for feedback, structured one-on-one conversations, and straightforward tools for navigating difficult discussions can significantly improve confidence and effectiveness. These skills matter because engagement is not abstract. It reflects the attention and effort employees bring to their work each day. Leadership behavior directly influences whether that energy grows or fades.Reduce isolation by building manager community
Manager burnout is not driven only by workload. It’s also driven by isolation. Managers often operate between competing pressures from senior leadership and their teams. They are expected to provide answers even when they themselves are navigating uncertainty. Opportunities to connect with peers can ease this burden significantly. Regular forums, informal discussions, and mentorship networks allow managers to share experiences and exchange practical advice. These connections do more than reduce stress. They help managers recognize that the challenges they face are not personal shortcomings but common realities of the role. Stronger networks among managers also tend to improve coordination across teams, strengthening organizational performance.Support sustainable performance and well-being
Sustained performance depends on sustained leadership capacity. Managers who are expected to remain constantly available, responsive, and reactive eventually lose the ability to lead effectively. Over time, this leads to decision fatigue, reduced clarity, and declining engagement across teams. Senior leaders play a critical role in shaping healthier norms. When executives model realistic expectations and boundaries, they create conditions where managers can perform consistently rather than operate in continuous crisis mode. Encouraging periodic reflection is equally important. Managers who pause to assess priorities, energy levels, and team needs tend to respond more deliberately and lead more effectively.Why manager support matters so much
Companies often focus engagement efforts on employees while overlooking the group with the greatest influence over daily work experience. Managers determine how priorities are communicated, how conflicts are handled, and whether employees feel supported or simply directed. The impact is measurable. Highly engaged teams consistently outperform others in productivity, profitability, and retention. Strengthening manager support therefore remains one of the most direct ways to improve engagement across an organization. Reducing overload, strengthening leadership skills, building peer connections, and enabling sustainable ways of working do more than help managers. They create conditions where entire teams can perform at their best.How personality insights help drive team performance
Work is ultimately shaped less by strategy than by the daily interactions between managers and their teams. Managers determine whether employees feel trusted, motivated, and clear about how to contribute. They influence whether differences in personality and working style become sources of friction or strengths that drive performance. At the center of engagement are a few basic human needs: autonomy in how work gets done, a sense of belonging within a team, confidence that one’s skills matter, and the feeling of being treated with respect. These needs are not addressed through policies. They are met, or missed, in everyday managerial behavior, especially under pressure. Evidence-based personality insights, such as those from Five-Factor Model personality assessments, gives organizations a practical way to support managers in this responsibility. When leaders understand their own tendencies and the differing traits across their teams, they communicate more effectively, anticipate tension earlier, and adapt their approach in ways that sustain performance. Equipping managers and employees with clear, actionable insight into personality and behavior helps create stronger alignment, healthier team dynamics, and more consistent results across the organization. That is the problem that We, powered by the WorkPlace Big Five Profile®, was designed to solve. Learn more here. Sources- Gallup. (2025). State of the global workplace 2025. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
- Gallup. (2015, April 21). Managers account for 70% of variance in employee engagement. https://news.gallup.com/businessjournal/182792/managers-account-variance-employee-engagement.aspx