This trend was highlighted by Culture Amp, an employee experience platform, which analysed data from 4,738 companies worldwide, including significant contributions from the UK (26%) and the DACH region (9%).

Between 2020 and 2022, there was a noticeable trend towards neutrality in employee feedback regarding their organisation's direction and workplace experiences. In surveys conducted during 2020-21, over half of the employees expressed neutral opinions on key aspects of their work, such as autonomy, compensation, leadership, and overall job satisfaction. However, by 2024, this neutrality had significantly decreased, with less than one third of employees maintaining neutral positions on these same factors.

The perception of leadership has also shifted. Confidence in company leaders, which peaked at 79% in 2021, has steadily declined, dropping to 74% by July 2024, close to the 73% confidence level seen in 2019 before the pandemic. In the UK, this decline was even more pronounced, with confidence in leadership falling from 75% in July 2023 to 68% in July 2024.

Employee engagement is also reverting to pre-pandemic levels. After reaching a high of 74% in 2020-21, engagement has stabilised at 71% in 2024, down from 73% in 2022. In the UK, engagement dropped four percentage points, from 70% in 2020 to 66% in July 2024. The DACH region experienced a sharper decline, with engagement falling from 69% in 2020 to 61% in July 2024.

Despite these challenges, Culture Amp's data revealed that employees remain optimistic about the meaningfulness of their work, its contribution to their company's success, and their relationships with colleagues. Engagement in discussions with managers about survey results increased to 60% in 2023-24, up from 55% in the previous year. Additionally, 39% of employees reported seeing positive changes in their workplace, a slight increase from 37% in 2022-23. These findings suggest that companies embracing diverse perspectives and actively integrating them may have a stronger grasp on maintaining employee engagement compared to more homogeneous organisations.

“The phase of ‘wait and see’ is over as employees hold increasingly polarised views on workplace matters,” says Dr Arne Sjöström, Lead People Scientist at Culture Amp. “Particularly concerning for company leaders are today’s leadership perceptions, where the progress made during the pandemic seems to have regressed, making employees feel disconnected from their leaders. These findings should be a wake-up call for senior executives and HR leaders. It is imperative for leaders to focus on what truly matters to move forward. Investing in methods to better acknowledge employees and make them feel valued for their contributions is crucial. This approach will also play a significant role in overcoming the ‘us vs. them’ divide prevalent in recent years.”