Despite global decline, Filipino workers among most driven but many want new jobs
MANILA, Philippines — Filipinos are the most engaged employees in Southeast Asia on average for the past three years, but they are also the loneliest and the most likely to be job hunting, according to the latest State of the Global Workplace report.
Global analytics and advisory firm Gallup released its 2025 report in April, revealing a drop in global employee engagement from 23% in 2023 to 21% in 2024.
The decline was largely attributed to managers falling short in connecting with employees, encouraging development and supporting productivity. The report also noted a decline in the well-being of older managers during the same period.
But what does an engaged worker look like?
Gallup defines engaged employees as those who feel they are thriving at work and are “highly involved and enthusiastic,” with their basic needs met, learning opportunities, and a sense of belonging in the workplace.
Meanwhile, those who said they are not engaged fall into what Gallup calls “quiet quitters” or “loud quitters.” These are employees whose engagement needs aren’t being met. “They are putting in time, but not energy or passion into their work,” the report said.
Southeast Asia ranked as the second most engaged region globally, tied with two others. Still, only about one in four employees in the region described themselves as engaged, slightly above the global average.
Among Filipino respondents, 38% said they were engaged at work, an increase from 2023. This was the highest rate among Southeast Asian countries surveyed. Thailand followed with 33%, while Indonesia recorded 27%.
However, the data also suggests that three in five Filipino workers were disengaged, either “quietly quitting” or “loudly quitting,” as a result of unmet workplace needs.
More Filipinos also viewed 2024 as a favorable time to find a new job, with 74% saying so under Gallup’s “job climate” indicator. At the same time, three in five respondents said they were actively looking for new jobs or planning to leave their current roles.
This trend closely mirrors findings from Aon’s 2024 survey, which showed 64% of employed Filipinos were considering or already pursuing new opportunities.
RELATED: 64% of Filipino workers on the lookout for better job offers — study
Filipinos’ feelings at work
The report also revealed that Filipino workers were the loneliest in Southeast Asia, with three in ten saying they felt lonely for most of their workday. Gallup introduced this indicator in its 2024 survey for the first time.
Filipino employees also ranked as the second most stressed in the region, with nearly half reporting high stress levels, a slight increase from 2023.
When asked about other negative emotions, nearly three in ten respondents said they often felt anger and sadness at work. The rate of anger slightly increased, while sadness remained unchanged from the previous year.
In terms of overall well-being, only 35% of Filipino employees said they were “thriving” in 2024, or at least close to living their ideal life. This marked a 1-percentage point drop from 2023, placing the Philippines fourth in the region.
Southeast Asia as a whole has seen slight gains in the number of workers who say they are thriving, with slightly more women than men reporting positive outlooks. Still, three in five Southeast Asians said they were struggling at work.
‘Deteriorating workplace environment’
Gallup’s study found that managers account for 70% of a team’s engagement, emphasizing their central role in shaping workplace morale. The report cited anecdotal evidence from employees who said their level of effort at work largely depended on their supervisors.
“If managers are disengaged, their teams are, too. This relationship is so strong that it shows up in country-level data: Countries with less engaged managers are more likely to have less engaged individual contributors,” the report said.
The well-being of managers has also been on the decline, particularly in regions like the United States and Canada, as well as Australia and New Zealand, over the past decade.
The report linked this decline to dissatisfaction with quality of life and income, noting that rising housing costs and inflation may be influencing how managers evaluate their lives.
The report identified a shared problem across all roles: a deteriorating workplace environment. As managers experience burnout, Gallup warned of performance dropping, absenteeism rising, and turnover increasing.
What should managers do?
Gallup outlined three key strategies that managers can use to boost employee engagement and productivity.
First, companies should invest in manager training, as most managers reported never having received formal instruction on how to lead.
Second, Gallup recommends teaching effective coaching techniques. Not all managers naturally inspire their teams, but coaching can be learned, the firm said.
One study found that engagement was 22% higher among employees whose managers had received coaching training compared to those whose managers had not.
Third, the report mentions the need to improve manager wellbeing by as much as 32%. The levels of managers who consider thriving in their jobs rose from 28% to 34% with training, and could reach up to 50% when training is paired with a workplace culture that encourages growth.
Gallup advises organizations to invest in wellbeing initiatives to support this and promote productivity among employees.
“It’s time to rethink the role of the manager,” the firm said. “Manager engagement is the key to reversing declining productivity, improving employee well-being and unlocking trillions in economic potential.
“The choice for executives is simple: Invest in the future of management or risk the consequences of inaction,” Gallup added.
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