What are They Looking for?

It can be difficult to meet the needs of an ever-changing workforce and motivate employees daily. Many industries are struggling with employee engagement, and Press Ganey and Gallup have provided key insights to why this might be the case. In Press Ganey’s Healthcare Employee Experience 2025 report, engagement dropped by 0.02 points in 2024. This may not seem significant, but disengaged employees are 1.7 times more likely to leave an organization. Gallup also found vital information in their latest survey which indicated that employee engagement is at its lowest point in the United States since 2014. Only 31% of employees are engaged at their workplace. This is a staggering percentage, but three areas to focus on to improve engagement could be expectations, care, and growth. These three areas saw the strongest decline out of the 12 engagement elements that were measured in Gallup’s survey.

Expectations

Only 46% of workers clearly know what is expected of them, which was down 10 points from a high of 56% in March 2020. Leaders must communicate clear expectations and direction for their team and understand that each employee communicates differently. While some may ask for instructions in great detail, others simply may want just the facts with room for discovery.

Care

The Healthcare Employee Experience 2025 report by Press Ganey revealed that the biggest driver of engagement was not compensation, rather it focused on trust, respect, belonging, quality, and safety. A drop in 8 points since 2020, currently, only 39% of employees feel strongly that someone cares about them. Creating a respectful workplace and a welcoming environment starts with leadership, but each team member plays a key role in fostering this type of space.

Growth

Finally, growth and development for employees are important factors to engagement. For individuals to feel investment from their organization, they desire for someone to encourage their development. This is true for all types of workers but especially Gen Z and millennials, who place a higher priority on career advancement and manager behaviors. Mentorships, new leader programs, or simply positive relationships can lead to personal growth, unfortunately, only 30% strongly agree that someone at work encourages their development. This statistic was down from 36% in 2020.

Press Ganey and Gallup’s recent findings have revealed what employees are really looking for to stay engaged. What they are looking for is unambiguous expectations, a caring workplace, and opportunities for growth. Although only 31% of employees are engaged in their current roles, focusing on these three areas can hopefully improve this percentage and lead to higher levels of job satisfaction.

–Josh Delaney, Learning Management Specialist

Harter, J. (2025, Jan. 14) U.S. Employee Engagement Sinks to 10-Year Low. Gallup. https://www.gallup.com/workplace/654911/employee-engagement-sinks-year-low.aspx

Press Ganey. Healthcare Employee Experience 2025. Press Ganey, 2025.

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