19.02.2026
Europe isn't burned out. It's under-energized.
Executive Insight | Ægir Thorisson, CPO
For years, we have talked about burnout as if it were the defining workplace crisis of our time.
And to be clear, burnout is real. I have seen it. Most leaders have.
But when I look at the data, I see something else as well.
According to global engagement research from Gallup, employee engagement worldwide has declined. Europe sits at the bottom of the ranking. Just thirteen percent of European employees report being engaged at work.
Thirteen percent!
At the same time, Europeans report lower stress, less anger, less loneliness and lower intent to leave than many other regions.
So we are not collapsing.
We are not breaking.
We are not even particularly unhappy.
We are just not very energized.
That is a different challenge.
Because it is easier to fix something that is visibly broken than something that is quietly underperforming.
The quiet middle
When I look at the numbers, what strikes me most is the size of what I call the quiet middle.
Roughly seventy three percent of Europe’s workforce is neither actively disengaged nor highly engaged.
They show up.
They deliver.
They do what is expected.
But they are not pushing.
Not challenging.
Not bringing that extra spark that drives innovation.
Workplaces are stable. Predictable. Tolerable.
But they are rarely electric.
And that matters more than we sometimes admit.
Innovation does not come from stability alone. Growth does not come from people doing just enough. Competitive advantage does not emerge from compliance.
It emerges from energy.
This is not about perks
When engagement drops, the reflex is understandable.
We add programs.
We improve benefits.
We invest in wellbeing initiatives.
There is nothing wrong with that. These things matter.
But they are not the core engagement driver.
Research consistently shows that most variation in team engagement is driven by the manager.
That can feel uncomfortable.
It certainly did for me the first time I fully absorbed it.
Because it means engagement is not primarily about systems.
It is about leadership.
Is work itself failing to inspire?
Europe has strong worker protections and mature regulatory frameworks. That is something to be proud of.
But highly structured environments can sometimes become overly process driven. Decisions travel up. Approvals multiply. Risk avoidance becomes the default.
Stability increases.
Energy decreases.
The people are not burned out.
They are simply not mobilized.
And mobilization is a leadership question.
The leadership imperative
Engagement is not a campaign.
It is not a slogan.
It is not something we fix with a quarterly initiative.
It is shaped in everyday moments.
How we run meetings.
How we respond when someone challenges us.
How we handle mistakes.
How much decision-making authority we are willing to share.
The opposite of burnout is not rest.
It is purpose.
Europe does not have an exhaustion crisis.
It has an energy gap.
And leadership is either contributing to that gap or helping close it.
Ægir Thorisson, Chief People Officer, Advania