Employee engagement and organisational culture: what's behind the numbers?

In Europe, only 12% of employees are engaged at work, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report.

The global average stands at 20%.

These figures are striking. While they don't tell us exactly what's happening within individual organisations, they do invite us to reflect on how we work.

We've spent years talking about purpose, values, talent and organisational culture. But how much of that is actually reflected in people's everyday experiences at work?

Because the culture we want to build and the culture people actually experience can sometimes be two very different things.

HOW ARE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT AND ORGANISATIONAL CULTURE CONNECTED?

Employee engagement is about how involved and connected people feel to their work and the organisation they belong to.

Organisational culture, on the other hand, is reflected in how we work together, how we relate to one another and how decisions are made.

They're different concepts, but closely connected: organisational culture shapes people's everyday experiences, which can either strengthen or undermine their engagement at work.

Think of an organisation that talks about trust, but where people are afraid to admit they've made a mistake.

Or one that promotes participation as a core value, yet important decisions are always made by the same few people.

What message does that send to everyone else?

Culture isn't communicated through stated values alone. It's also shaped by the behaviours we allow, the decisions we make and the way we treat people.

And all of this influences how we experience our work.

HOW MUCH INFLUENCE DO PEOPLE REALLY HAVE OVER THEIR WORK?

When we talk about employee engagement, we often ask ourselves how we can encourage people to become more involved.

But perhaps we should also be asking what opportunities they actually have to contribute.

Can they suggest improvements? Is their knowledge taken into account when decisions are made? Can they challenge ways of working that are no longer effective?

This doesn't mean that every decision needs to be made collectively.

It means recognising that the people within an organisation have knowledge and experience that can help make it better.

Because asking people to be committed without giving them meaningful opportunities to contribute can be contradictory.

That's why encouraging participation isn't just about listening to people's opinions. It also means being clear about which decisions they can influence and what happens to their contributions afterwards.

HOW CAN ORGANISATIONS TURN THEIR VALUES INTO EVERYDAY BEHAVIOURS?

When we support teams through organisational culture projects, this is one of the questions we focus on most.

Because saying we want a more collaborative, participative or trusting organisation can be relatively straightforward.

The difficult part is defining what those values actually look like in everyday working life.

For example:

• Trust: What happens when someone admits a mistake or shares bad news?
• Collaboration: How do two departments respond when their priorities conflict?
• Participation: Which decisions take into account the views of the people affected by them?

These questions help us move beyond broad statements and identify behaviours we can recognise, put into practice and improve.

Because changing organisational culture isn't just about defining new values. It's also about examining whether the way we work reflects them.

WHERE SHOULD ORGANISATIONS START TO IMPROVE EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT?

There's no single formula for improving employee engagement. And Gallup's figures don't tell us exactly what needs to change in each organisation.

But they can help us start an important conversation.

Before launching another initiative around values or engagement, perhaps it's worth taking a closer look at what's really happening in our day-to-day work.

How decisions are made. What happens when someone disagrees. Whether people have opportunities to contribute ideas. And whether there's consistency between what we say and what we do.

Because organisational culture isn't defined solely by the values we write down, but by the decisions and behaviours that bring those values to life.

And perhaps a good question to start with is:

What would need to happen tomorrow for someone in our organisation to say, "Things really are done differently here"?

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace 2026, p. 38.