Insights

Research you can use. Practical steps for your team.

Growth needs more than effort. As responsibilities expand, teams need clear expectations, useful training, and ways of working that can keep pace. Explore the research, consider what it may mean for your business, and try one practical step.

Explore: Manager support · Listening and trust · Workload and focus

Managers need support, too.

Source: Gallup, State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Data period: January–December 2025; comparison with 2024.

What the research found: Global manager engagement fell from 27% in 2024 to 22% in 2025. Overall employee engagement was 20% in 2025. These are global findings, rather than a measure of your own team.

Zing perspective: A manager who is always answering questions or completing unfinished work may need clearer decision authority, coaching, and support. Ask what is making the role difficult before adding another responsibility.

One question to ask: “Which decisions or responsibilities keep coming back to you, and what would help your team handle them with confidence?”

One tool to try: Select one recurring task. Agree on its owner, the decisions they can make, and when to escalate. Use The Juggle Is Real activity preview to start making the work visible.

Close the gap between what leaders intend and employees experience.

Source: Glassdoor Economic Research, Worklife Trends 2026: Midyear Check-in, June 24, 2026. Data period: 2026 through June 7, compared with 2025.

What the research found: Mentions of “disconnect” increased 52% in Glassdoor’s analysis of U.S. reviews discussing senior leadership or management. The analysis included reviews by current full-time and part-time employees and normalized mentions by review volume.

Read the finding in context: This is a change in language within Glassdoor’s review sample. It does not mean 52% of employees feel disconnected, and it does not establish what caused the change.

Zing perspective: Employees and leaders may be working from different information. A useful conversation makes room for both perspectives and ends with a clear commitment and follow-through.

One question to ask: “Where is the work you experience different from what we think is happening?”

One tool to try: Prepare one conversation: separate what you observed from what you assumed, ask for the other person’s perspective, and agree on a next step and check-in date. Explore the We Can Talk It Out activity preview.

A shared responsibility: “it is more important than ever for employees and leaders to work together.”
— Glassdoor Economic Research, Worklife Trends 2026, November 12, 2025.

This excerpt is from Glassdoor’s research commentary. It is not a client testimonial or an endorsement of Zing.

Make room for work that needs attention.

Source: Microsoft WorkLab, Breaking down the infinite workday, June 17, 2025. Aggregated, anonymized Microsoft 365 activity data ending February 15, 2025; education and EU tenants excluded.

What the research found: Among the top 20% of users by incoming ping volume, Microsoft calculated an average of roughly one meeting, email, or chat ping every two minutes during core working hours. The measure counts incoming pings; it does not show that every ping interrupted someone’s attention. It is not an average for all workers.

Zing perspective: A full day of messages can conceal unclear ownership, repeated questions, or competing priorities. Understanding what drives the interruptions can help a team decide what needs an immediate response and what can wait.

One question to ask: “Which requests truly need an immediate answer, and which could follow an agreed process or response time?”

One tool to try: Track recurring requests for one workday. Group them by topic, identify an owner, and agree on an escalation rule. Start with the free hidden-work conversation guide.

Why engagement still belongs in the business conversation.

Earlier evidence: In a June 11, 2024 article on its meta-analysis, Gallup reported 23% higher profitability among business units in the top quarter of engagement compared with the bottom quarter. The analysis covered more than 183,000 business units across 53 industries and 90 countries. This is an association across studied units, not a promised result for an individual business or a Zing engagement.

Turn one insight into a useful next step.

You do not need to know which workbook or service fits before reaching out. We listen to your people, explore what is getting in the way, and shape support around your priorities. Coaching, training, process improvement, and tailored tools can work together.

Explore Zing’s tools and workbook previews

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Research links checked October 16, 2026. Zing perspectives, questions, and suggested activities are our practical interpretation of the research.