Why Managers and Employees See Engagement Differently

By AMA Staff

AMA’s 2026 Management Survey found a continuing difference between how managers assess their own engagement and how employees experience it.

Sixty-two percent of managers said their engagement increased in the past 12 months. Among employees, 51% said their managers’ engagement remained constant, while 20% said it decreased.

At first glance, those findings appear difficult to reconcile. But the survey suggests that managers and employees may be looking for different signs of engagement.

Employees tend to judge manager engagement through behaviors they can see and experience directly. Managers may place more weight on commitment to the work itself and the effort involved in taking on greater responsibility.

Both perceptions may be valid.

How Do Employees Know When Their Manager Is Engaged?

When AMA asked employees which behaviors indicate an engaged manager, communication ranked highest.

Fifty-three percent said communicating openly and regularly with employees indicates manager engagement. Forty-two percent pointed to providing clear direction and expectations.

Another 37% identified listening to employee concerns and feedback, while the same percentage identified supporting employee growth and development.

These are highly visible behaviors. Employees know when a manager communicates with them. They experience whether expectations are clear and whether their concerns are heard. They also know whether their manager is making time for their development.

The findings align with another result from the survey: Managers and employees agree that communication and coaching are among the most important management skills.

Development may be particularly important to the perception gap. Only 16% of managers said the role of “talent developer” had increased for them during the past 12 months. Employees, however, identified support for growth and development as one of the behaviors that signals manager engagement.

A manager can therefore feel deeply engaged in the work while an employee sees less of one of the behaviors they associate with engagement.

How Do Managers Measure Employee Engagement?

AMA asked managers about the employee behaviors they associate with engagement.

Forty-nine percent said enthusiasm about work indicates engagement, while 40% pointed to commitment to organizational success. Thirty-eight percent identified volunteering for new projects. Managers also cited implementing feedback, contributing new ideas, and exceeding job requirements.

The survey did not ask managers whether they use these exact measures when judging their own engagement. Still, it is reasonable to infer that some managers may apply similar standards to themselves.

A manager who is highly committed to organizational success, taking on new responsibilities, and putting significant effort into difficult problems may reasonably consider themselves highly engaged. Employees may have little visibility into much of that effort.

What Is the Invisible Work of Management?

AMA’s 2025 and 2026 survey findings suggest that a growing share of managerial work is cognitive.

Managers are spending time thinking through decisions and priorities. They are navigating ambiguity, weighing risks, and evaluating AI outputs. Much of this work requires managers to apply their own judgment to situations where the answer may not be obvious.

Employees rarely observe that process directly.

They see the resulting decision. They may see a new priority or receive a new assignment. They do not necessarily see the deliberation that came before it.

This helps explain how a manager can feel more engaged while employees experience little change in that manager’s engagement.

The manager may be spending more time solving problems and working through difficult decisions. The employee may be looking for regular communication and time with that manager. Both are responding to real aspects of the manager’s work.

Why Do Employees and Managers Perceive Engagement Differently?

The gap becomes clearer when engagement is viewed from the employee’s position.

Employees tend to experience manager engagement through interaction. They see it when managers communicate regularly, provide direction, listen to feedback, and support their development. Managerial thinking is harder to see.

A manager can spend hours considering a decision that affects the team and still appear unavailable during that time. A manager can work through uncertainty on behalf of employees without employees knowing that work is taking place.

The survey findings suggest that some of what managers experience as increased engagement may therefore remain invisible to the people they manage.

That does not make the work less important. It does help explain why greater managerial effort does not automatically lead to a greater perception of engagement among employees.

Two Views of the Same Manager

The engagement gap does not necessarily mean that managers are overestimating their effort or that employees are failing to recognize it. Managers and employees are seeing different parts of the job.

Managers have direct knowledge of the time and attention they give to decisions, problems, and organizational demands. Employees have direct knowledge of how often their manager communicates with them and whether they receive the direction, feedback, and development support they need.

Understanding that difference is important because management is becoming increasingly difficult to observe. As more managerial work involves deliberation and navigating uncertainty, the amount of effort a manager puts into the job may become less obvious to employees.

The engagement gap may therefore say as much about the changing nature of management as it does about engagement itself.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the engagement gap between managers and employees?

The engagement gap refers to the difference between managers’ assessment of their own engagement and employees’ perceptions of manager engagement. In AMA’s 2026 survey, 62% of managers said their engagement increased, while 51% of employees said their managers’ engagement remained constant and 20% said it decreased.

What behaviors make employees see a manager as engaged?

Employees most often pointed to open and regular communication. Fifty-three percent identified it as a sign of manager engagement. Employees also cited clear direction and expectations, listening to concerns and feedback, and supporting employee growth and development.

How do managers tend to think about engagement?

When managers were asked which employee behaviors indicate engagement, they most often identified enthusiasm about work and commitment to organizational success. They also pointed to volunteering for new projects and going beyond job requirements. The research suggests managers may apply some of these same standards when assessing their own engagement.

What is the invisible work of management?

Invisible managerial work includes the thinking and judgment employees may not directly observe. AMA’s research points to work such as considering priorities, navigating ambiguity, weighing risks, and evaluating information before making decisions.

Why might a highly engaged manager appear less engaged to employees?

A manager may be spending significant time making decisions and solving problems while employees are looking for visible signs of engagement, such as communication, feedback, and coaching. The manager experiences the effort involved. Employees experience the behaviors that reach them.

Why is employee development relevant to the engagement gap?

Thirty-seven percent of employees said supporting employee growth and development indicates manager engagement. At the same time, only 16% of managers said the “talent developer” role had increased for them during the past year. That difference may contribute to how each group assesses manager engagement.

Can both managers and employees be right about engagement?

Yes. The findings suggest that managers and employees may be evaluating different aspects of the same work. Managers see their own effort and cognitive workload. Employees judge engagement largely through the manager behaviors they can observe and experience.