From Quiet Quitting to Job Hugging: India's Workplace Engagement Crisis Deepens
Workplace dynamics are undergoing a significant transformation, shifting from the phenomenon of "quiet quitting" to a new trend termed "job hugging." According to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace 2026 report, employee engagement has declined globally for the second consecutive year, with South Asia, particularly India, experiencing the most severe drop. The report, released on Wednesday, analyzed employee mood and well-being across 160 countries, revealing troubling patterns in the region.
Steep Decline in South Asia and India
South Asia recorded the steepest decline in engagement globally, alongside the lowest proportion of employees identifying as "thriving" and the highest levels of daily sadness. In India, the trends present a mixed but concerning picture. While the share of actively disengaged employees has decreased over the past 15 years, recent data indicates a reversal in engagement levels, suggesting that quiet quitting has firmly taken root in workplaces.
Long-term data illustrates this shift: actively disengaged employees fell from 31% in 2010–12 to 18.47% in 2023–25. The "not engaged" category saw a marginal decline from 59.98% to 59.02%. Meanwhile, the proportion of engaged employees rose from 9.03% to 22.51%, though it had peaked at 33.17% during 2020–22 before declining again.
Manager Engagement Plummets
Manager engagement in India dropped sharply from 39% in 2022–24 to 30% in 2023–25. Puneet Singh, Regional Director (Research and Analytics) for Asia-Pacific at Gallup, highlighted a critical issue: "The big question is whether Indian workplaces have enough great managers who can deliver an engaging experience to their direct team members. This is something that the whole world is struggling with — lack of talented managers and an increased span."
Globally, manager engagement declined from 27% in 2024 to 22% in 2025, marking the sharpest annual drop. South Asia, led by India, recorded the biggest regional fall with an eight-point decline.
Understanding Engagement and Quiet Quitting
The report defines workplace engagement as the psychological connection employees have with their work, teams, and organizations, measured through 12 parameters including recognition, development support, and learning opportunities. It notes that the fall in engagement is driven not by actively disengaged workers but by the growing pool of "not engaged" employees — commonly referred to as quiet quitters.
Singh explained the distinction: "Quiet quitting implies that workers work for themselves, do not offer any discretionary effort at work, and have no connection to the mission or purpose of the organization. Loud quitting or actively disengaged employees are those who are disgruntled or working actively against the organization — they are angry, unhappy and insist on sharing it with others."
Economic Implications and Worsening Well-Being
Low engagement levels have broader economic consequences. The report stated, "While engagement occurs at the team level, employees who are not engaged or actively disengaged lead to less profitable organizations, which, in turn, translates into lower economic growth."
Beyond engagement, the report highlights deteriorating employee well-being. South Asia recorded just 16% of respondents as "thriving," compared to the global average of 34%. The region also reported the highest daily sadness at 36% versus 23% globally, and higher anger levels at 31% compared to 22% globally.
In India, emotional stress indicators have worsened over time. Reported anger rose from 28% in 2008–10 to 34% in 2022–24, while sadness increased from 24% to 39% during the same period. In 2025, anger stood at 31% and sadness at 36% based on a three-year rolling average.
Report Methodology and Data Sources
The report is based on long-term global surveys conducted by Gallup since 2005 using randomly selected adult samples. The 2025 dataset includes responses from 141,444 employed individuals aged 15 and above worldwide. In India, the sample size for the 2023–25 rolling period stood at 3,095 respondents, with all engagement insights derived from unweighted survey data.
As workplaces evolve from quiet quitting to job hugging, the findings underscore an urgent need for organizations to address engagement and well-being to foster healthier, more productive environments.
