CultureMonkey People ScienceQ3 2026 Edition

Employee engagement, rising and falling

Comparing full-year 2026 with 2025 across every industry, region and company size in CultureMonkey's data, 13 segments rose and 13 fell; the all-company average moved 0.00. Telecommunications is the biggest riser at +1.27, Creative and Media the biggest fall at −0.60.

Q3 2026 Edition
Biggest moves, 2025 to 2026
Telecommunications
+1.27
Non Profit
+0.86
Energy
+0.32
Logistics and Transportation
−0.39
Education
−0.48
Creative and Media
−0.60
Full-year 2026 vs 2025, engagement 0-10 · three biggest rises and falls across every axis
▲︎ +1.27
Telecommunications, biggest rise 2025 to 2026
▼︎ −0.60
Creative and Media, biggest fall
26
segments with both years of data
Last updated October 2026 · Refreshed quarterly · 2026 is year-to-date through Q3 2026
Rose
13
segments up year over year
Fell
13
segments down
All companies
0.00
2025 to 2026, 0-10
Compared
26
segments across 3 axes
01Every segment, one list

Who's rising, who's slipping

Full-year 2026 against 2025 for every industry, region and company size in CultureMonkey's data, on the 0-10 engagement scale. Filter by axis, sort by any column.

26 segments
Axis
TelecommunicationsIndustry7.368.63
▲︎ +1.27
+17.3%
Non ProfitIndustry7.478.33
▲︎ +0.86
+11.5%
EnergyIndustry8.218.53
▲︎ +0.32
+3.9%
SMB (100-500)Company size7.938.21
▲︎ +0.28
+3.5%
ManufacturingIndustry8.078.27
▲︎ +0.20
+2.5%
North AmericaRegion7.928.11
▲︎ +0.19
+2.4%
LATAMRegion8.218.40
▲︎ +0.19
+2.3%
TechnologyIndustry8.028.17
▲︎ +0.15
+1.9%
RetailIndustry8.188.28
▲︎ +0.10
+1.2%
HospitalityIndustry8.198.26
▲︎ +0.07
+0.9%
EuropeRegion7.717.75
▲︎ +0.04
+0.5%
HealthcareIndustry8.318.34
▲︎ +0.03
+0.4%
Construction and Heavy IndustryIndustry8.088.09
▲︎ +0.01
+0.1%
Food and BeverageIndustry8.108.04
▼︎ −0.06
-0.7%
Mid-Market (500-2000)Company size8.228.16
▼︎ −0.06
-0.7%
APACRegion8.398.30
▼︎ −0.09
-1.1%
MEARegion8.358.23
▼︎ −0.12
-1.4%
Professional ServicesIndustry8.328.15
▼︎ −0.17
-2%
Micro (<100)Company size8.097.91
▼︎ −0.18
-2.2%
Enterprise (2000+)Company size8.398.21
▼︎ −0.18
-2.1%
MiningIndustry8.428.13
▼︎ −0.29
-3.4%
FinanceIndustry8.528.20
▼︎ −0.32
-3.8%
AgricultureIndustry8.187.82
▼︎ −0.36
-4.4%
Logistics and TransportationIndustry7.937.54
▼︎ −0.39
-4.9%
EducationIndustry8.407.92
▼︎ −0.48
-5.7%
Creative and MediaIndustry7.947.34
▼︎ −0.60
-7.6%
Change = 2026 minus 2025 · % = change as a share of the 2025 score · See our methodology ↓︎
02What's driving the move

The drivers behind the biggest rise and the biggest fall

For the top riser and the top faller, how each engagement driver moved over the same year. Where the headline number went, these are the levers that went with it.

Biggest rise · Telecommunications
▲︎ +1.27
7.36 →︎ 8.63
Industry · 2025 to 2026
1Communication
▲︎ +1.78
2Social Connection
▲︎ +0.64
3Autonomy
▲︎ +0.51

Drivers that rose most alongside the headline · driver score change, 0-10

Biggest fall · Creative and Media
▼︎ −0.60
7.94 →︎ 7.34
Industry · 2025 to 2026
1Social Connection
▼︎ −1.98
2Work Environment
▼︎ −1.73
3Rewards
▼︎ −1.38
4Recognition
▼︎ −1.33
5Work-Life Balance
▼︎ −0.83

Drivers that fell most alongside the headline · driver score change, 0-10

03Five years of movement

The biggest movers, year by year

Yearly engagement (0-10) for the three biggest risers and two biggest fallers, 2021 to 2026. Hover for values; click a legend item to hide or show a line.

7.008.259.50202120222023202420252026Telecommunications 8.63Non Profit 8.33Energy 8.53Education 7.92Creative and Media 7.34
04The whole picture

Every segment, every year

One row per segment, one cell per year, coloured by quartile across the whole grid. Read across a row for a segment's story; down a column for a year's.

Segment202120222023202420252026Change
Telecommunications · Industry
-
8.14
8.25
8.29
7.36
8.63
▲︎ +1.27
Non Profit · Industry
-
-
-
-
7.47
8.33
▲︎ +0.86
Energy · Industry
-
-
-
-
8.21
8.53
▲︎ +0.32
SMB (100-500) · Company size
7.93
8.26
8.52
7.90
7.93
8.21
▲︎ +0.28
Manufacturing · Industry
8.06
8.19
8.29
7.71
8.07
8.27
▲︎ +0.20
North America · Region
8.18
7.95
8.07
7.80
7.92
8.11
▲︎ +0.19
LATAM · Region
7.50
7.60
8.30
8.23
8.21
8.40
▲︎ +0.19
Technology · Industry
8.18
8.23
8.34
8.22
8.02
8.17
▲︎ +0.15
Retail · Industry
8.37
7.65
8.41
7.97
8.18
8.28
▲︎ +0.10
Hospitality · Industry
8.32
8.88
9.07
7.76
8.19
8.26
▲︎ +0.07
Europe · Region
8.75
7.87
8.29
7.75
7.71
7.75
▲︎ +0.04
Healthcare · Industry
-
7.62
8.21
8.06
8.31
8.34
▲︎ +0.03
Construction and Heavy Industry · Industry
8.05
8.16
7.67
8.01
8.08
8.09
▲︎ +0.01
Food and Beverage · Industry
8.58
6.59
8.58
7.86
8.10
8.04
▼︎ −0.06
Mid-Market (500-2000) · Company size
8.36
8.29
8.39
8.08
8.22
8.16
▼︎ −0.06
APAC · Region
8.11
8.27
8.48
8.25
8.39
8.30
▼︎ −0.09
MEA · Region
8.18
8.00
8.23
8.23
8.35
8.23
▼︎ −0.12
Professional Services · Industry
7.75
8.42
8.33
8.02
8.32
8.15
▼︎ −0.17
Micro (<100) · Company size
7.59
8.29
7.53
7.70
8.09
7.91
▼︎ −0.18
Enterprise (2000+) · Company size
8.22
8.25
8.37
8.18
8.39
8.21
▼︎ −0.18
Mining · Industry
-
-
-
-
8.42
8.13
▼︎ −0.29
Finance · Industry
8.15
8.26
8.28
8.19
8.52
8.20
▼︎ −0.32
Agriculture · Industry
-
-
-
7.58
8.18
7.82
▼︎ −0.36
Logistics and Transportation · Industry
-
8.97
9.22
8.03
7.93
7.54
▼︎ −0.39
Education · Industry
-
-
7.52
7.30
8.40
7.92
▼︎ −0.48
Creative and Media · Industry
-
9.20
7.80
7.45
7.94
7.34
▼︎ −0.60
top quartileabove medianbelow medianbottom quartileRelative to every cell shown
05The latest quarter

Quarter on quarter, Q3 2026

MEA moved most last quarter (+0.71); Hospitality slipped most (−0.36). Quarters are noisier than years, so read these as early signals rather than trends.

SegmentAxisQoQ ↓︎Now (0-10)
MEARegion▲︎ +0.718.14
MiningIndustry▲︎ +0.678.23
EducationIndustry▲︎ +0.606.98
EnergyIndustry▲︎ +0.548.34
FinanceIndustry▲︎ +0.508.25
ManufacturingIndustry▲︎ +0.457.98
HealthcareIndustry▲︎ +0.438.18
North AmericaRegion▲︎ +0.427.90
Micro (<100)Company size▲︎ +0.307.70
Enterprise (2000+)Company size▲︎ +0.308.16
SMB (100-500)Company size▲︎ +0.268.09
RetailIndustry▲︎ +0.258.03
EuropeRegion▲︎ +0.247.67
Construction and Heavy IndustryIndustry▲︎ +0.178.00
Professional ServicesIndustry▲︎ +0.147.99
Food and BeverageIndustry▲︎ +0.127.91
Creative and MediaIndustry▲︎ +0.097.67
TechnologyIndustry▲︎ +0.068.05
SportIndustry▼︎ −0.028.32
Mid-Market (500-2000)Company size▼︎ −0.038.07
LATAMRegion▼︎ −0.058.22
Logistics and TransportationIndustry▼︎ −0.117.95
AgricultureIndustry▼︎ −0.147.68
APACRegion▼︎ −0.168.22
HospitalityIndustry▼︎ −0.368.29

Methodology

Year over year. Full-year 2026 (year to date through Q3 2026) versus full-year 2025, per segment, on the 0-10 engagement scale.
Quarter on quarter. Q3 2026 versus the previous quarter, per segment.
Drivers behind a move. For the biggest riser and faller, each of the 22 driver scores in 2026 minus 2025, ranked.
Source. Anonymised responses from CultureMonkey customers since 2021 Q3, refreshed quarterly.
Cite this data
CultureMonkey People Science (2026). Employee Engagement Momentum: Rising and Falling Segments, Q3 2026 Edition [Data set]. https://www.culturemonkey.io/benchmarks/employee-engagement-trends/ (updated October 2026).
Data verified by
CultureMonkey People Science

The research team behind these benchmarks. Every published figure is re-derived from the source survey data independently of the pipeline that builds these pages, then compared value by value. Nothing ships while a check disagrees.

5,866 checks passing~11M responsesVerified October 2026
FAQ

Frequently asked questions

01
Which segment gained the most engagement in 2026?

Telecommunications (industry) posted the largest year-over-year gain in CultureMonkey's Q3 2026 data, +1.27 on the 0-10 scale, from 7.36 in 2025 to 8.63 in 2026. The drivers that moved most alongside it were Communication (+1.78), Social Connection (+0.64), Autonomy (+0.51).

02
Which segment declined the most in 2026?

Creative and Media (industry) fell the most, −0.60 from 7.94 to 7.34. The drivers that slipped furthest with it were Social Connection (−1.98), Work Environment (−1.73), Rewards (−1.38).

03
How is year-over-year movement measured?

Each segment's full-year 2026 average (year to date through Q3 2026) is compared with its full-year 2025 average, on the 0-10 engagement scale. Full years smooth out quarter-to-quarter noise; the quarter-on-quarter view further down uses Q3 2026 against the previous quarter.

04
Why compare across industries, regions and company sizes at once?

Movement is more visible in a wider pool. Pooling every segment across the three axes gives a single ranked list of what's rising and slipping, instead of three shorter lists that each hide the others' context.

By region
Employee Engagement by Region
APAC and LATAM share the top of all 5 regions at 8.22 (0-10).
By size
Employee Engagement by Company Size
Enterprise leads engagement; Mid-Market leads eNPS.
By industry
Employee Engagement Scores by Industry
Hospitality leads all 14 industries at 8.29 (0-10).
Drivers
Driver Impact Rankings
All 22 drivers ranked by score and by how closely they move with eNPS.
eNPS
eNPS Benchmarks
Median eNPS is +26, the good zone. By industry, region and company size.
Tool
Percentile Comparison
Enter your score, see where you rank against benchmark companies.
Get started

Catch your own movement before it becomes a trend

Track engagement and its drivers quarter by quarter, benchmark the movement against these segments, and act while the change is still small.

Book a free, no-obligation product demo call with our experts.