2026: The Year of the Checked-Out Workforce
For employers it is not headline news that employee engagement is at an all-time low. Many employees are going through the motions and doing just enough to meet minimum job performance expectations. They are showing up but not fully participating in doing great work.
Some of the reasons for the checked-out workforce in 2026 are:
People who have jobs are holding on to them because there are more people looking for jobs than jobs available.
There’s still a push-me pull-you going on between management and employees around where, when and how people work. More and more leaders are calling people back to offices and employees often prefer the flexibility that remote or hybrid schedules provide. But, working in isolation breeds loneliness, and many are feeling disconnected from their co-workers, if they even know them at all. The isolation bred from remote and hybrid work leads to even lower levels of job satisfaction.
Employees are afraid their jobs will be taken by AI. At least 6% of the United States workforce will lose their jobs this year due to AI. People who learn how to work with AI and make it work for them in their specific role will typically find a way forward with the new technological realities AI presents. Employers need to be honest with employees whose jobs are at risk due to AI, and at the same time employers need to reskill people for new jobs that will arise in the next two to three years.
Levels of burnout are particularly high amongst those in management jobs. Senior level roles in particular are affected as record numbers of CEO’s have retired or otherwise left their jobs the past few years. The Russell Reynolds Global CEO Turnover Index reached a new record in 2025, with 234 CEOs exiting their roles, up 16% from 2024, and 21% above the eight-year average.
Finally, it’s better for people who truly won’t get on board to leave. Some employee turnover is good. Especially if people are becoming toxic and trying to bring others down with them it’s best that they move on. Smart employers maintain performance standards for their jobs and hold employees accountable to those standards, document where gaps in performance exist, and coach and counsel employees in hopes of better performance.
What are smart leaders doing in the face of disengaged employees?
They are focusing on the personal, human connection people crave. Human beings are meant to be in community, even if they are introverts. Those who are more outgoing crave more interaction than those who prefer more alone time, but people do need other people to thrive in work and in life.
They get to know their people. What matters to them as individuals and what do they feel they can live without?
They show they care without crossing boundaries that shouldn’t be crossed in the manager/employee relationship. Smart employers empathize with their employees’ feelings and personal situations, but don’t get overly entangled with their employees’ non-work lives.
They are not allowing problem employees to remain an issue because they know that as long as they tolerate poor performance the message to all employees is they don’t need to bother.
If dealing with disengaged employees has you wanting to check-out yourself, contact us at laura@conoverconsulting.com. We will diagnose your organization’s culture and point out ways to make your workplace more inviting to potential and current employees. And we will help you see reality with respect to those people who are causing you headaches.