ADP Research: “Worker engagement is on the rise”

13 March, 2025

More employees reported being engaged on the job, with significant differences related to work location, geography or team performance

London, United Kingdom, 11 March 2025 – According to the second study in ADP Research’s refreshed “People at Work 2025” report series, nearly 1 in 5 workers worldwide reported being fully engaged on the job, a record high in data going back a decade. It was the third straight year that the share of engaged workers grew.

“The workplace has been transformed over the last few years. Not only is global unemployment near record lows, employers are also investing in their people in new ways. Both of these factors have helped drive increases in worker engagement worldwide", said Nela Richardson, chief economist, ADP.

“Our research demonstrates that the global share of engaged employees now stands at 19%, 5 percentage points higher than its pandemic low of 2020 when only 14% of workers were fully engaged on the job,” said Mary Hayes, research director of People & Performance at ADP Research. “The research highlights that geography, work location – working on a hybrid mode, on-site or at home – and also being part of a high-performing team have a significant impact on employee engagement levels and provides valuable insights for companies to improve their employee results and retention.”

Location matters

The “People at Work 2025” study shows a strong relationship between work location and employee engagement.

While 56% of employees surveyed worldwide say they work on-site every day (up 2 points compared to last year and up 8 percentage points compared to 2022), only 12% work exclusively remotely (down 1 percentage point) and 32% work in hybrid mode (down two percentage points compared to last year).

While the share of employees working exclusively on-site and being fully engaged has been growing steadily for several years, in a large majority of geographies, employees who work in hybrid mode say they are the most engaged.

But above all, it seems that it is employee autonomy that has a significant impact on high levels of engagement. The study shows that respondents who have complete freedom of choice regarding their workplace, meaning they can choose to work on-site or elsewhere without any restrictions, are much more engaged than others. And this trend is confirmed regardless of the actual workplace: those who have the choice, even if they work on-site or at home, are as engaged as hybrid workers with the same level of freedom.

WHAT IS ENGAGEMENT?

ADP Research has been tracking worker engagement around the world for 10 years. We define engagement as the emotional state of mind that causes people to do their best work and do it sustainably. This means they’re doing their best work now and are likely to continue doing it.

Engagement is an important metric. Our research has established a strong connection between a person’s level of engagement on the job to their level of productivity and loyalty to their employer. All organizations, big or small, want to retain workers and enhance their productivity. As such, all employers have an interest in fully engaging their workforce.

Geography matters

Economic, social, and political conditions affect employee engagement with some differences between markets. “People at Work 2025” reports the biggest gain in the Middle East/ Africa region, rising 3 percentage points to 25% fully engaged workforce.

Europe, Poland, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands were among the world’s biggest losers when it came to engaged workers, pushing the entire region down to 17%.

Being part of the best team is essential

In many roles, work can only be carried out on-site, necessitating the use of other levers. One such strategy is fostering a sense of team belonging, which is crucial. The ”People at Work 2025” study reveals that most employees (90%) are part of a team, but 52% of those who feel they are part of a high-performing team are fully engaged, compared to only 10% of those who say they aren’t on a high performing team. This underscores the value of team belonging in the workplace.

Therefore, it is crucial to focus on employee development and give special attention to the growth of local leaders. These leaders play a pivotal role in the group's performance, underscoring the significance of their role in the organization.

“People at Work 2025” Report Series Methodology

For the first time, “People at Work” is built on the ADP Research Global Workforce Survey, a robust study conducted regularly since 2015. The survey was designed by ADP Research’s team of analysts by obtaining information about the labor market from the perspective of workers themselves, with the goal of providing insights that can improve the world of work by better understanding worker sentiment and expectations.

Based on survey data from nearly 38,000 working adults in 34 markets across six continents, “People at Work 2025” features a representative sample of the global workforce to provide regional and market-to-market comparisons of worker sentiment in the Asia-Pacific region, Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa, and North America.

Respondents come from a wide variety of industries, educational backgrounds, on-site and remote work environments and skill sets. They represent a range of management and individual contributor roles, working for employers of all sizes.

A unique attribute of the “People at Work 2025” report series is its measurement of worker sentiment in granular detail across worker types using a proprietary methodology developed by ADP Research. In addition to demographic and employer characteristics, survey respondents are classified by the type of work they do – knowledge, skilled task, or cyclical – regardless of industry.

“People at Work’s” ability to gather sentiment along these different worker and geographical dimensions provides employers with a fine-tuned and granular view of the global workforce that they can leverage to better understand their workforces and drive growth through data-driven talent decisions.

Each report will pair global trends with market-by-market insights on workplace topics ranging from artificial intelligence and workers holding multiple jobs to get by, to wage trends and career development.

About ADP Research

The mission of ADP Research is to make the future of work more productive through data-driven discovery. Companies, workers, and policymakers rely on our finely tuned data and unique perspective to make informed decisions that impact workplaces around the world.

About ADP (NASDAQ – ADP)

Designing better ways to work through cutting-edge products, premium services and exceptional experiences that enable people to reach their full potential. HR, Talent, Time Management, Benefits and Payroll. Informed by data and designed for people. Learn more at ADP.com.

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ADP Media Contact:

Nicolas Swiatek
ADP, Inc.
Nicolas.Swiatek@adp.com