10 trillion reasons why workplace well-being matters
$1.54 million every second.
That’s the estimated value the world is now losing each second of working time due to employee disengagement.
The latest State of the Global Workplace 2026 report from Gallup confirms what many leaders are already seeing. Engagement is falling, stress remains high, and the expected productivity gains from technology are failing to translate into meaningful business outcomes.
Gallup now estimates that low engagement is costing the global economy approximately $10 trillion annually, or 9% of global GDP. Based on data collected throughout 2025, this represents one of the most significant and persistent productivity challenges facing organisations today.
At mentl, we applied the same methodology as last year, dividing this figure by the globally accepted average of 1,800 working hours per year. The result is a global productivity loss of $5.56 billion per hour, $92.6 million per minute, and $1.54 million per second.
When disengagement is operating at this scale, understanding what is driving stress and burnout, inside and outside the workplace, is no longer optional. It is essential.
Global engagement has now fallen to 20%, down from 21% the previous year and 23% in 2022. This marks the second consecutive year of decline, bringing engagement to its lowest level since 2020. At the same time, 64% of employees are not engaged and 16% are actively disengaged.
Managers remain the critical lever. Manager engagement has declined significantly in recent years, falling again to 22% globally. Gallup’s research continues to show that 70% of team engagement is directly attributable to the manager, reinforcing how central leadership capability is to reversing this trend.
Despite billions being invested in AI and new technologies, the report highlights a growing disconnect between investment and impact. The majority of leaders report no meaningful productivity gains, and only a small proportion of employees believe these tools have fundamentally changed how work gets done. The constraint is no longer technology. It is organisational readiness and leadership.
Nowhere is this more visible than in the Gulf.
Using the same GDP-based methodology applied last year, but updated with Gallup’s latest global figure, mentl estimates that disengagement is now costing the GCC more than $200 billion annually. That equates to approximately $114 million lost every hour across the region.
This represents a significant increase from our 2025 estimate of $122 billion, a year-on-year rise of nearly $80 billion.
GCC Cost of Disengagement: Year-on-Year Comparison
| Country / Region | 2025 Cost (USD bn) | 2026 Cost (USD bn) | Change (USD bn) | Change % | 2026 Hourly Cost |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GCC Total | 122.0 | 200.8 | +78.8 | +64.6% | $114.0m |
| Saudi Arabia | 85.0 | 106.8 | +21.8 | +25.6% | $61.0m |
| UAE | 43.0 | 48.6 | +5.6 | +13.0% | $28.0m |
| Qatar | 20.5 | 19.4 | -1.1 | -5.4% | $11.0m |
| Kuwait* | ~10–11 | 13.2 | +2.0–3.0 | ~+20–30% | $7.5m |
| Oman* | ~10–11 | 8.8 | -1.0–2.0 | ~-10–20% | $5.0m |
| Bahrain | 4.3 | 4.0 | -0.3 | -7.0% | $2.3m |
At a country level, the impact is substantial. Saudi Arabia accounts for approximately $106.8 billion annually, the UAE for $48.6 billion, Qatar for $19.4 billion, Kuwait for $13.2 billion, Oman for $8.8 billion, and Bahrain for $4 billion.
These figures are not abstract. They reflect lost productivity, reduced focus, higher turnover, increased absenteeism, and the cumulative effect of employees who are physically present but psychologically disengaged.
The underlying workforce data explains why.
In the Middle East and North Africa, engagement sits at just 14%, among the lowest levels globally. At the same time, 48% of employees report experiencing stress on a daily basis, one of the highest rates in the world. Anger is reported by 30% of employees, and only 26% of workers are considered to be thriving in their overall lives.
This is not just a well-being challenge. It is a structural performance issue.
The relationship between engagement and wellbeing is well established. Employees who are engaged are significantly more likely to be thriving, more productive, and more resilient. Conversely, high stress, burnout, and emotional strain directly erode performance.
The data points to a clear conclusion. Organisations cannot separate wellbeing from business outcomes.
Addressing disengagement requires more than surface-level initiatives. The drivers are embedded in how work is designed, how teams operate, and how leaders show up day to day. Workload management, role clarity, meeting culture, and psychological safety all play a critical role in shaping employee experience.
This is why rebuilding engagement has become one of the most important priorities for organisations across the region.
The opportunity is equally significant. While the cost of disengagement continues to rise, so too does the potential upside from getting this right. Even small improvements in engagement levels can translate into substantial gains in productivity, retention, and overall organisational performance.
The question is no longer whether organisations can afford to invest in well-being.
At a cost of $114 million every hour across the GCC, the real question is whether they can afford not to.
