REGIONAL ROUND-UP
AFRICA APAC EUROPE MIDDLE EAST NORTH AMERICA
DIVERSE PICTURE OF EMPLOYEES ’ ENGAGEMENT AND WELLBEING ACROSS VARIOUS NATIONS IN THE SUB-SAHARAN REGION
Gallup ’ s latest State of the Global Workplace report finds that global employee engagement stagnated and employee wellbeing declined in 2023 after multiple years of steady gains . The result is that the majority of the world ’ s employees continue to struggle at work and in life , with direct consequences for organisational productivity .
The findings reveal a diverse and intricate picture across various nations in the Sub- Saharan region across multiple metrics . The report shows that one in five employees in the Sub-Saharan region are engaged at work , compared to the global average of 23 %. In South Africa , 29 % are engaged ; in Tanzania , 31 % and in Kenya , 18 %, but Senegal shows significantly higher rates at 40 %.
The role of work in employee mental health and wellbeing
Employee engagement is a significant factor in overall life experiences . Not all mental health issues are related to work , but work is a factor in life evaluations and daily emotions . Addressing employee mental health , in part , requires support for thriving in life and engagement at work .
In Sub-Saharan Africa , nearly half of all employees ( 48 %) report experiencing stress a lot the previous day , marking a two-percentage-point increase from 2022 and higher than the global rate of 41 %. In South Africa , 32 % report experiencing stress , compared to 34 % in Kenya , 46 % in Senegal and 40 % in Zambia , which is much higher than the 25 % of employees in Zimbabwe .
The regional rate of 28 % for those experiencing sadness is higher than the global rate of 22 %, but the picture is quite nuanced across the region . While in South Africa and Senegal , 20 % of employees report experiencing sadness a lot of the previous day , 23 % in Kenya do so , 24 % in Tanzania , 28 % in Zambia , 36 % in Gambia and 37 % in Togo . A significantly lower 15 % report sadness in Mauritius and 16 % in Namibia , while Guinea is much higher at 49 %.
Gallup finds that 20 % of the world ’ s employees experienced loneliness a lot the previous day . Social isolation and chronic loneliness have a devastating effect on physical and mental health but work itself decreases loneliness . In general , working adults are less lonely than the global average .
Findings show that Sub-Saharan Africa has the second-highest regional percentage of employees experiencing loneliness . Nearly one in three in the region ( 28 %) felt lonely a lot the previous day , compared to 22 % globally .
The global workplace has changed since 2020 . The rise in hybrid work for remotecapable employees has made people management more complicated . When organisations increase the number of employees who are engaged at work , it improves a host of organisational outcomes . There remains a vast potential for workplaces in Africa to address employee engagement and wellbeing , but the diversity of findings confirms that the underlying factors can vary significantly from one country to another . x
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