Editorial summary. This is our text summary of an article published by gnews-employee-engagement-broad. Charts, figures, and the author’s full voice are at the original — read it there .
Editorial verdict
Vendor-influenced. The core retention statistics are plausible but the data originates from the Achievers Workforce Institute — a research arm of a recognition software vendor — creating a direct conflict of interest where findings consistently favour recognition and rewards programs that Achievers sells.
Executive summary
This article reports on findings from the Achievers Workforce Institute's 2025 workforce survey, addressing employee recognition, engagement, and retention risks projected into 2026. The central argument is that recognition gaps, weak peer and manager connections, and perceived pay inequity are driving significant retention risk globally. Evidence is drawn from approximately 2,500 employees and 1,500 HR professionals across eight countries. Key findings include that only 25 per cent of employees envisioned a long-term career with their employer, 34 per cent planned to seek new employment in 2026, and only 17 per cent felt fairly compensated. The report estimates that if 34 per cent of U.S. full-time workers changed jobs, turnover costs could reach between US$1.3 trillion and US$5.1 trillion. The article concludes that recognition, rewards, and connection — particularly through managers — are the strongest indicators of retention and performance, framing these levers as the primary organizational response to projected 2026 attrition.
Key insights
- 1Only 25 per cent of global employees surveyed felt appreciated at work in 2025, with most of the remainder reporting they felt neither appreciated nor engaged.
- 2Peer and manager connection rates were critically low — only 21 per cent felt connected to peers and 19 per cent felt connected to their managers — and both metrics were associated with engagement and long-term career intent.
- 3Only one per cent of employees who did not receive regular recognition from managers reported feeling connected to their work, and this group was more than twice as likely to plan to leave their employer.
Practical takeaways
- Organizations with limited or restricted access to recognition and rewards programs may face disproportionately higher attrition risk based on the survey's association between reward accessibility and retention intent.
- Manager behavior — specifically frequency of recognition — is identified in this report as a key variable in employee connection and retention outcomes, suggesting manager-level practices warrant examination in retention diagnostics.
References
- Achievers Workforce Institute (2025).Achievers Workforce Institute 2025 Workforce Survey.
Source & Provenance
gnews-employee-engagement-broad
Not specified
December 3, 2025
Industry Report
Global
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