You’ve probably seen it by now. 

Gallup just dropped their State of the Global Workplace report for 2025, and it’s... bleak.

• Global employee engagement dropped (again).

• Manager wellbeing is tanking.

• Half the workforce is quietly browsing job boards on their lunch break.

It’s a tough read. 

But if you’re a career coach, it also reads like a call to action.

Let’s break down what’s going on, and more importantly, what we do with this as coaches.

First, the numbers:

• Global employee engagement: down from 23% to 21%

• Manager engagement: fell even harder, from 30% to 27%

• Female managers: engagement dropped 7 points

• Life satisfaction (“thriving”): now just 33% globally

• 50% of workers are actively looking or watching for new jobs

If these were your client metrics, you'd call an emergency session.

So... what’s going on?

Managers are at the center of the storm. 

They’re being asked to hold culture, deliver results, and adapt to AI. 

All while half their team is working from a spare bedroom and the other half is disengaging in real time.

And they’re doing it with less clarity and often, zero training.

Gallup put it plainly:

“70% of team engagement is down to the manager.”

So when they’re burned out, the team feels it. The work suffers. And then the exits begin.

Have you coached a manager like this recently?

What this means for us

If you’re reading this, you’re probably the person your clients call when things feel off. 

When they’re tired but can’t explain why. 

When they’re quietly questioning their worth because nothing at work is clicking anymore.

You can’t fix the system.
But you do need to help them move through it without losing themselves.

Here’s where I think we focus:

1. Normalize how they’re feeling

Most clients aren’t saying “I’m disengaged.”
They’re saying “I’m tired all the time,” or “Nothing I do seems to matter,” or “I don’t know if I even want to do this anymore.”

This is your moment to say,
“Hey, that’s not just you. That’s the system. And you’re not broken because of it.”

Then shift the focus:

• What feels energizing lately, even in small moments?

• Where do you feel most like yourself at work?

• What would make staying (or leaving) feel like an act of agency, not just survival?

Before we talk career strategy, we need to give our clients clarity.

2. Be a lifeline for managers

If you coach managers now is the time to reach out to former clients and see how they’re doing.  

The chances are, they’re trying to hold the line between exec pressure and team morale, without training, feedback, or a map.

Support them in:

• Naming the gap between what’s expected and what’s realistic

• Coaching their people instead of performing leadership theater

• Rebuilding trust in their own instincts, which they’ve probably stopped listening to

They don’t need another leadership book.

They need someone who sees how lonely the role has become and knows how to hold space for it.

3. Redefine what progress looks like

If 50% of workers are thinking about leaving, you’ll be seeing a lot of “do I stay or go” energy in sessions. 

That doesn’t mean they’re ready to jump ship. It means they’re looking for traction.

Try reframing:

• “What would progress feel like this month, even if nothing external changes?”

• “What would it look like to advocate for yourself without setting off alarm bells?”

• “Where do you already have power you haven’t named yet?”

Questions like these will help them create momentum before the job offer comes through.

4. Be honest about burnout

A lot of clients think burnout looks like collapse. 

But most of the time, it looks like just barely holding it together.

Help them name it so they stop blaming themselves for something systemic.

Gallup found that even basic manager training cuts disengagement in half. 

Imagine what real coaching could do!

Let’s call this what it is

The system is straining.
Managers are exhausted.
Workers are questioning everything.

And our role as career coaches just got more essential.

In the middle of all that noise and pressure and uncertainty, you’re the steady voice. 

The one reminding them they’re not alone. 

That their work has meaning. That they still have power, even when it feels like everything is slipping.

This moment is about helping them find their spark again. 

Because when we remind people of their worth, they start to move differently. 

And that’s where real change begins.

Let’s keep doing that work.

Heather

I’m building a highly vetted directory of career coaches — the kind I’d confidently refer clients to.

If you’re doing great work and want to be part of it, I’d love to hear from you.

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