Manager Quality = 70% of Employee Engagement Variance
Gallup's State of the Global Workplace research reveals what actually predicts job happiness
Key Findings
- ✓ Manager quality is #1 predictor of employee engagement and satisfaction
- ✓ Managers account for 70% of variance in employee engagement—more important than company, role, or salary
- ✓ Employees with great managers are 2.5x more likely to be engaged
- ✓ Most job seekers don't meet their future manager 1:1 before accepting
Why This Matters
When evaluating a job offer, most people focus on salary, benefits, and company reputation. But your manager accounts for 70% of variance in your engagement—and most people don't even meet them before accepting.
ReasonKit's GigaThink tool forces you to ask: "Who is my manager? Did I meet them 1:1? What happened to the last person in this role?" These questions predict satisfaction better than any salary negotiation.
Related Research
This connects to LinkedIn research showing that 73% of job changers regret "culture mismatch" they didn't catch. The questions that predict satisfaction (manager quality, team dynamics) are the ones most people don't ask.