SHRM Global Employee Monitor Finds Belonging Is Key to Engagement and Retention

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Today, SHRM, the trusted authority on all things work, workers, and the workplace, released its Q3 2026 Global Employee Monitor, revealing that a sense of belonging is uniquely influential across employee engagement, retention, turnover intent, and job search — even as workers continue to prioritize pay and express growing uncertainty about the broader economy. 

The quarterly report examines the factors shaping employee attraction, retention, engagement, well-being, artificial intelligence adoption, and workers’ outlook for the future across 26 countries. 

Key Findings: 

• Compensation remains workers’ top consideration. Pay continued to carry the most weight in decisions to join, stay with, or leave an organization, while benefits, job security, career advancement, and work-life balance also ranked among workers’ leading priorities. 

• Belonging has the broadest influence across workforce outcomes. It was the only workplace characteristic identified as a statistically significant predictor of engagement, retention, turnover intent, and job search. 

• Workers generally favor staying, even as job-search activity ticks upward. Fifty-nine percent of workers were more inclined to stay with their current employer than leave, while 40% had searched for a new job within the past year, up from 37% in Q1 and Q2. 

• Economic confidence remains fragile. Just 23% of workers viewed economic conditions in their countries favorably, while 24% rated the cost of living relative to wages favorably and 26% viewed their local job market favorably. 

• Workers feel prepared to navigate workplace change. Eighty-seven percent said they had adapted effectively to changes at work, while 85% had actively developed their skills and the same share had successfully handled new or unfamiliar challenges. 

• Generative AI use is widespread, while job-loss concerns are limited. Thirty-nine percent of workers said they use generative AI often or always at work, while 67% expressed little or no concern that AI would eliminate their jobs within the next year. 

“Workers are telling us that compensation may get their attention, but belonging plays a critical role in whether they engage, stay, or begin looking elsewhere,” said James Atkinson, vice president of thought leadership at SHRM. “Employers can respond by pairing competitive pay with a workplace where people feel connected, respected, and equipped to grow.” 

The findings underscore that the factors attracting workers to organizations are not always the same ones that keep them engaged. Pay remained the strongest influence on employment decisions, while meaningful work, opportunities to use skills, recognition, and belonging were more closely associated with engagement. Retention and turnover were also strongly connected to job security, work-life balance, respectful workplaces, and relationships with managers. 

Belonging emerged as a particularly important predictor of employment decisions. Just 18% of workers satisfied with their sense of belonging had seriously considered quitting during the previous year, compared with 61% of those who were dissatisfied. Overall, 74% felt a sense of belonging at their organizations. Workers also remained confident in their performance and adaptability, with more than nine in 10 saying their performance met or exceeded expectations and roughly two-thirds confident their skills would be valuable in the broader job market. 

That confidence contrasts with a more cautious outlook. Fifty-three percent of workers were optimistic about their organizations’ prospects, down from 57% in Q2 and 56% in Q1, while perceptions of economic opportunities also softened. Meanwhile, generative AI remained the most used form of workplace AI, but most workers continued to express little concern about AI eliminating or substantially changing their jobs within the next year. 

Methodology 

The Q3 2026 Global Employee Monitor is based on responses from 5,107 workers across 26 countries collected between July 8 and Aug. 8, 2026, through a third-party online panel. A total of 15,896 workers were surveyed across the first three quarters of 2026. Participants were at least 18 years old and employed either full time or part time at organizations with at least two employees. Responses were balanced as much as possible to ensure representation by age and gender, and the survey was translated into each country’s official language, with localized English used where applicable. 

About SHRM 

SHRM is a member-driven catalyst for creating better workplaces where people and businesses thrive together. As the trusted authority on all things work, SHRM is the foremost expert, researcher, advocate, and thought leader on issues and innovations impacting today’s evolving workplaces. With nearly 340,000 members in 174 countries, SHRM touches the lives of more than 362 million workers and their families globally. Discover more at SHRM.org.