Gallup’s 2025 State of the Global Workplace report just dropped.

On paper, Australia and New Zealand are thriving. Dig a little deeper, and you’ll find the cracks.

We’re topping global “thriving” stats but we’re also quietly burning out, with some of the highest daily stress levels and the lowest manager engagement in the world.

It’s a leadership problem. And it’s about to hit businesses where it hurts.

The ANZ numbers 

• 56% of workers say they’re “thriving.”
• 49% report high daily stress – second highest in the world.
• Only 23% are engaged at work.
• Manager engagement is dropping fast, especially among women and under-35s.

A workforce that’s quietly switching off, even if they’re still showing up.

What I’m seeing on the ground 

Teams are stretched thinner than ever.
Headcounts have dropped. Budgets are tight. Expectations are still climbing. The burnout is real, and it’s showing.

Coaching is disappearing.
Leaders are so stretched managing outputs that real development, coaching, and long-term investment in their teams have fallen off the priority list.

Many new managers are overwhelmed, and it’s not their fault.
Promoting brilliant individual contributors into leadership roles without giving them the training, tools, or support they need to succeed is setting up a cycle of frustration and disengagement.

“Green” hires are being left to drown.
Leaders are selling candidates the dream – a thorough onboarding, strong mentorship, leadership they can learn from.
On the ground, those promises are slipping, and new starts are feeling it. The gap between what’s sold and what’s delivered is where trust dies.

What some of the best are doing 

Rethinking structure, not just headcount.
By redesigning how territories are covered, how customers are served, and how teams are supported – they’re protecting their people from burnout while sharpening execution at the same time.

Making leadership development everyone’s responsibility.
They’re forming cross-functional project groups – HR, senior leaders, middle managers – sitting at the same table, designing leadership programs that actually show up in daily business, not in dusty training decks.

Treating coaching as a non-negotiable.
It’s visible, measurable, expected.

Measuring action. 
They’re asking harder questions:
→ Are managers coaching better?
→ Are trust and engagement climbing?
→ Are teams being built, not just directed?

They’re having this conversation over and over again.
One-off workshops don’t build culture just like how one “coaching conversation” doesn’t create a coach. Repetition is what creates expertise and embeds change.

The Opportunity In Front of Us

The organisations that win the next decade won’t be the ones who push harder. They’ll be the ones who lead better.

The future will be built by companies who understand that wellbeing, engagement, and performance aren’t competing priorities but rather that they’re connected. They rise or fall together.

Build your managers. Build your future.

Pamela

Founder, Talent Redefined.