Managers are Essential for Employee Engagement. But Organisations aren’t Developing Neuroinclusive Leaders.
Global employee engagement is plummeting, and disengaged managers are dragging their teams down with them.
Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report reveals that only 21% of employees are engaged worldwide. Manager engagement has dropped even more sharply, from 30% to 27%, costing the global economy a staggering $438 billion in lost productivity.
These numbers reflect more than performance metrics. They represent people, particularly managers, overwhelmed by post-pandemic complexity, the rise of AI, and shifting workplace expectations. And for neurodivergent managers, the cost is even higher in systems still lacking neuroinclusive leadership practices.
Managers Are Central to Engagement. But They’re Burning Out.
Gallup research shows that 70% of a team’s engagement is influenced by its manager. But in 2024, managers reported the steepest declines in both engagement and wellbeing. Young and female managers were particularly affected, with engagement drops of 5 and 7 percentage points respectively.
This isn’t just about people feeling tired. It’s about a widening leadership gap that threatens the health and productivity of entire organisations.
Why Neurodivergent Managers Are Especially at Risk
Neurodivergent managers, those who may have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or other forms of cognitive difference, face added, often invisible pressures. These include:
- Navigating leadership norms that don’t reflect their communication or processing styles
- Masking their neurodivergence to fit in, which leads to emotional burnout
- Facing a lack of tailored support or accessible training
- Being overlooked for leadership development despite high capability
Without neuroinclusive leadership approaches, organisations risk losing some of their most innovative, empathetic, and systems-oriented leaders.
Why Most Organisations Are Falling Short
Despite the growing recognition of neurodiversity, few organisations are putting inclusive leadership into practice. Recent data from CIPD shows:
27%
offer training for managers on what neurodiversity is and its business value
23%
provide guidance on how to manage a neurodiverse team
18%
train managers on how to respond when an employee discloses they are neurodivergent
39%
of organisations have taken no action at all to prepare managers for neuroinclusive leadership
These gaps highlight why so many managers burn out or feel overwhelmed by neurodiversity, and why team engagement continues to erode.
Building Resilience Through Neuroinclusive Leadership Training
The evidence is clear: training leaders to be neuroinclusive is one of the most effective ways to enhance performance, engagement, and organisational resilience.
Gallup reports that:
- Basic manager training cuts active disengagement in half
- Coaching-focused development improves manager performance by up to 28%
- When coupled with ongoing development, manager wellbeing increases from 28% to 50%
But the case goes further.
According to City & Guilds, 23% of employees who had progressed at work said that manager support was the most significant factor.
Similarly, research from Birkbeck, University of London found that employees consistently identified line managers as their first point of contact for disability-related support, highlighting the critical need for those in frontline leadership roles to be confident and competent in neuroinclusive practice.
These findings underscore a fundamental truth: line managers are gatekeepers to opportunity, inclusion, and wellbeing. Yet too often, they are under-equipped to meet the needs of neurodivergent employees, or to recognise the value those individuals bring.
To realise the full potential of a neurodiverse workforce, organisations must move beyond generic leadership development and embed neuroinclusive principles at the core of training.
This Is Not Optional
Disengagement isn’t a temporary dip, it’s a symptom of deep organisational misalignment. And failing to support the managers at the centre of your culture, especially those who are neurodivergent, puts productivity and innovation at risk.
Neuroinclusive leadership is no longer a nice-to-have. It’s essential to building workplaces where all managers, and their teams, can thrive.
