The Impact of AI
In the recently published State of the Global Workplace report, Gallup shared their worldwide findings on the employee experience from 2025. One of the key themes, highlighted by the message from the CEO John Clifton, is AI in the workplace and how it has yet to make a transformative business impact.
Clifton writes that “A recent MIT study found that despite roughly $40 billion in enterprise investment, 95% of organizations have seen zero measurable impact on profits. An NBER survey of nearly 6,000 global executives reports that 89% see no effect on labor productivity. In Gallup's own data, only 12% of employees in AI-implemented organizations strongly agree that AI has transformed how work gets done in their organization.”
Engagement Trends
Employee engagement declined globally in 2025 for the second straight year but remained steady for the United States and Canada. The decline in global engagement was driven by a five-point decline in manager engagement. From 2022 to 2025, the gap in engagement between managers and individual contributors has gone from managers +11 down to managers +3, meaning managers are now barely more engaged than their employees.
Understanding the manager experience is more crucial than ever. At People Results, we see improved engagement at all levels for clients who successfully listen to and act on manager feedback. Engaged managers are essential to having engaged employees.
The Impact of Managers on AI Adoption
Success at your company, whether it be for day-to-day business or a transformative initiative like AI adoption, depends on engaged managers. Manager-led AI adoption was one of the top two drivers of frequent AI use according to Gallup’s Q1 2026 U.S. workforce survey. The survey also found that employees who strongly agreed that their manager actively supports AI use were significantly more likely to feel that AI has transformed how work gets done at their organization and that it gives them opportunities to do what they do best every day.
There are specific manager behaviors that contribute to successful AI adoption. The People Results AI Readiness & Adoption assessment helps companies understand where they are on their AI journey by asking about behaviors like providing opportunities to practice and experiment with AI tools, modeling responsible use of those tools, and explaining how tools can enhance work.
Engaging Managers
With manager engagement declining and the success of AI programs depending on their buy-in, understanding and supporting managers should be a priority for all organizations. Gallup found that within best-practice organizations, 79% of managers were engaged at work — nearly quadruple the global average. These workplaces span across regions and industries, but what they have in common is prioritizing employee engagement as part of their business strategy.
People Results uses a variety of listening and analysis tools to help organizations understand their unique manager experience and identify potential gaps. Learning whether managers feel supported and confident in their roles allows organizations to make the changes necessary to take on transformative initiatives and be successful.
—Ben Klein, Research Consultant
