Comms solutions for when managers are disengaged

From waves of major layoffs at the beginning of the year to the continued RTO push and backlash against it, there’s no shortage of major changes afoot that are impacting employees and their relationship with their jobs. When changes happen, comms pros often lean on managers to help break the news. But what if those managers are also feeling the stress of an ever-changing workplace?

The Gallup State of the Global Workplace Report 2025 explores the trends and movements that are shaping work. One of the report’s headlines is that just 21% of global employees consider themselves engaged with their jobs. Since the report began measuring engagement in 2009, the level of engagement has only fallen twice in the decade-plus history of the report. The last drop was in 2020 amid the height of the COVID pandemic.

But it’s also worth mentioning which employees feel disconnected from work engagement. The report stated that just 27% of managers feel engaged at work, a drop of 3 points from the previous year and a low point in the history of the report. The study also reported a five-point drop in engagement for managers under 35 and a seven-point drop for female managers.

Some of the factors the report cited for the fall in engagement included:

• Post-pandemic employee turnover
• Rapid restructurings
• Employee desires for flexibility and remote work amid RTO processes
• Digital transformation and the rise of AI tools at work

Steph Lund, CEO of MSQ Sport + Entertainment, told Ragan that she’s not surprised by the data showing a slip in engagement.

“There are cycles in business spurring different themes across worker patterns and habits. These shifts inevitably shake up office culture,” she said. “This is especially true in a post-pandemic world. Couple that with advancements in modern workforce technology, and there’s a huge issue with connectivity and community in the workplace culture.”

Manager disengagement and the comms pro’s role

There are two major reasons communicators need to focus on manager engagement in their internal comms strategies. The first is that managers are a key conduit for comms pros in their employee communication strategy. If there’s a major policy or structural change that needs talking about, it’s often a good call to allow managers to handle the team-level impacts. If managers aren’t feeling engaged, that isn’t good for team engagement and can have outsized impacts on the company as a whole.

Lund said that communicators should create and consistently share messaging about manager growth tracks to ensure that even when sledding gets tough, there’s a path forward and that they’re a valuable part of the overall business model.

“The track for managers needs to be promoted, surrounded by positive sentiment and shouted out to promote an organization’s tangible commitment to managerial growth paths,” she said.

The other is the importance of a manager’s role in employee perception of the organization. If an employee can tell their manager is disengaged, they’re less likely to be a better individual contributor. Manager disengagement can also have negative impacts beyond the day-to-day workload. Left unchecked, it can cause teams to become listless and lead to lower retention rates of talent.

So, where does the comms team come into play?

Communicators may not be the policymakers who can directly create change, but their influence to do so can help disaffected managers. For instance, the report stated that just 44% of managers have on-the-job manager training to help them become well-equipped for their jobs. At a rate of less than half of surveyed managers, that’s a lot of management pros lacking the right tools and training to succeed, by no fault of their own.

Lund said that managers are at the heart of any organization’s structure, and communicators need to be tapped into their needs on the job.

“Managers are so key to the effective running of any team,” Lund said. “They need to feel motivated and on a growth track. Consistent training is not just a way to ensure accountability and engagement, but it’s also key for the person to feel there is true and steady growth for them in their role as a leader.”

She added that communicators should engage in consistent internal messaging campaigns to showcase any learning and growth opportunities for management pros. If those messages come from higher-ups, even better.

“Every role should feel they are learning all the time,” she said. “There are so many tactics employed by strong leadership to bring this to life, but above all it’s the consistency in the programming and messaging of this that ensures greater productivity as well as retention amongst employees.”

Comms pros also need to consider the impact of manager engagement on the bottom line. In a piece for Ragan last year, Lizz Summers, director of communications, rental division at Cintas, shared that if comms shows managers where they can upskill in the short term, they can save money and time in the long term. “Turnover is expensive,” Summers said. “Inefficiency is expensive. But cohesive, useful and connective communications can get organizations past that and drive everyone toward success. And in the end, isn’t a successful organization better for everyone?”

Lund echoed these sentiments and cited the Gallup report’s claims of a happier life outside of work being tied to a more productive and content experience on the job.

“Employers certainly can’t control aspects of workers’ lives outside of the workplace, but they however they can play a minor role in enhancing them,” she said. “Communicating about wellbeing opportunities the company facilitates in a way that’s both accessible and easy to understand can make for happier workers — both in and outside of the office.”

Sean Devlin is an editor at Ragan Communications. In his spare time he enjoys Philly sports and hosting trivia.