Only 10% of UK employees are engaged at work.
According to the latest State of the Global Workplace 2025 report by Gallup, that figure places the UK significantly below the global average of 21%. But it is what sits beneath that headline number that is perhaps more telling.
Across the UK workforce:
- 10% are thriving
- 12.5% are contributing
- 47.5% are compliant — doing what is required, no more, no less
- 30% are surviving — getting through the day without any real connection to the work or the organisation
For retail organisations, where performance is so closely tied to the energy, consistency, and presence of frontline teams, this is not an abstract HR issue.
It is a leadership issue.
The Cost of Disengagement Is Already Showing Up
Low engagement is estimated to cost the UK economy £293 billion each year — close to 10% of total economic output.
In retail environments, that cost becomes visible very quickly. Not just in financial terms, but in the day-to-day experience of running the business.
It shows up in higher absence rates, increased staff turnover, inconsistency in customer experience, and the gradual erosion of productivity over time.
Absence in particular is often treated as a standalone issue — something to be managed through policy or process. But it is very often a symptom rather than a cause. More often than not, it reflects something deeper: fatigue, disengagement, or a lack of connection to the team or the environment.
People rarely switch off overnight. It happens gradually, almost imperceptibly, until it becomes visible in behaviour.
I have seen this play out up close. Leading in a fast-paced retail environment through periods of constant change, I remember times when absence would start to creep up across certain teams. Initially, I would try to explain it away — but I came to realise that in reality, it was often a signal that people were tired, stretched, and starting to disconnect.
The Relationship Between Employers and Employees Has Shifted
In The End of the Affair, Ben Walker describes what feels like a fundamental shift in the relationship between employers and employees.
The traditional psychological contract — where stability and loyalty were exchanged for commitment and performance — is no longer as strong as it once was.
Employees are asking different questions now, whether consciously or not. Questions about meaning, about value, about whether they are seen and understood by the people they report to.
This shift is particularly relevant in retail, where roles are demanding, fast-paced, and often highly operational. In that kind of environment, it is very easy for work to become transactional, and for engagement to quietly erode over time.
What becomes clear is that engagement can no longer be driven through incentives or policies alone. It is shaped far more by the everyday experience people have with their leader.
Many Leaders Have Never Been Taught How to Lead
One of the realities in many UK organisations — and particularly in retail — is that a large number of managers were promoted into leadership because of their operational competence.
According to the Chartered Management Institute, around 80% of managers are considered “accidental managers” who have not received formal management or leadership training.
They are promoted because they are capable, reliable, and commercially strong — which makes complete sense from an operational perspective. But very often, they have not been given the time, space, or support to develop the skills required to lead people effectively.
I recognise this because I was one of them.
Early in my leadership career, I was focused on delivery, on results, on keeping things moving. That was what the environment demanded, and it was what I had been rewarded for. What I was not always aware of at the time was the impact that pace and pressure were having on the people around me — and on myself.
During periods of intense change, it felt like the only option was to keep going, keep holding everything together, and keep performing. There was not much space to stop and think.
You Get a Free Brain With Every Pair of Hands
There is a phrase I often come back to:
You get a free brain with every pair of hands you hire.
And yet, in many retail environments, it is only the “hands” that are consistently used.
People are told what needs to be done, how it should be done, and by when — but are given limited opportunity to think, contribute, or influence what is happening around them. This is not a reflection of capability. It is a reflection of how leadership is being practised.
Looking back, I can see moments where I could have created more space for thinking, more space for contribution — but did not, because the focus was on pace and delivery.
When people are not invited to think, engagement naturally declines. Ownership reduces. And over time, so does the willingness to go above and beyond.
When they are invited in — when their ideas are heard, when they are trusted to contribute — something shifts. Energy increases, accountability strengthens, and performance follows.
Engagement Is Created in the Day-to-Day
It is easy to think of engagement as something that sits within HR, or as something that can be addressed through large-scale initiatives.
But in reality, engagement is created — or lost — in much smaller, everyday moments.
It is shaped by the quality of conversations leaders have with their teams, by the level of trust that exists, by how clearly expectations are set, and by whether people feel genuinely listened to.
The leaders who have the greatest impact are often not doing anything particularly dramatic. Instead, they are consistently creating an environment where people feel valued, supported, and clear about what they are there to do.
When that happens, a different kind of team dynamic emerges. People support each other more. They take pride in their work. They are more present, more engaged, and more willing to contribute.
Absence reduces — not because it is being managed more tightly, but because people feel more connected to where they are.
Where Leadership Coaching Makes a Difference
This is where leadership coaching plays a very practical and important role.
Not as a remedial intervention — but as a way of supporting leaders to think more clearly about how they lead and the impact they are having.
For me, coaching became important when I realised how little space leaders actually have to step back and reflect. In high-pressure environments, that space simply does not exist unless it is intentionally created.
Coaching provides that space.
It allows leaders to pause, to make sense of what they are experiencing, and to make more conscious choices about how they show up. Over time, this changes the nature of leadership itself — moving it from something that is primarily about control and delivery, to something that is more connected, collaborative, and sustainable.
A Real Opportunity for Retail Organisations
Retail organisations in the UK are operating in a challenging environment, with pressure on cost, performance, and people all at the same time.
But within that challenge sits a genuine opportunity.
Improving engagement does not necessarily require large-scale transformation. It often starts with something much more fundamental — equipping leaders to lead people, not just processes, and creating environments where individuals can contribute more fully.
Because ultimately, engagement is not something that can be imposed.
It is something that is created, moment by moment, through leadership.
A Final Thought
Most employees in the UK today are not thriving at work. But that is not fixed.
With the right support, and with a more intentional approach to leadership, it is entirely possible to shift teams from simply surviving, to contributing, and ultimately to thriving.
And when that shift happens, the impact is felt not only in how people experience work — but in how organisations perform.
If you are an HR leader or senior executive in retail, it may be worth asking a simple question:
Are your leaders equipped to create the level of engagement your organisation needs?
References
-
Gallup – State of the Global Workplace 2025
https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx -
Director Magazine Spring 2026 – The End of the Affair by Ben Walker
https://www.iod.com/director/magazine/director-magazine-spring-2026-view-our-spring-issue-in-full/ -
Liberate HR – Unpacking Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workforce Report
https://www.liberate-hr.co.uk/blog-post.php?slug=unpacking-gallup-s-2025-state-of-the-global-workforce-report -
Gartner – Top Priorities for HR Leaders 2025
https://www.gartner.com/en/human-resources/trends/top-priorities-for-hr-leaders -
Chartered Management Institute (CMI) – Accidental Managers Research
https://www.managers.org.uk
Your Next Step
If you are an HR leader or senior executive in retail and you recognise this challenge in your organisation, I would welcome a conversation.
Book a Free 20-Minute Leadership Strategy Call
We’ll:
- Explore the engagement challenges showing up in your teams
- Identify whether your managers have the skills to lead people, not just operations
- Outline a practical approach to building leadership capability across your organisation
Ute Thomas is a former Regional Director at Lidl and ILM Level 7 certified executive coach specialising in leadership development, employee engagement, and operational resilience for retail organisations.
