Employee engagement in Sweden is 25% in 2026, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace report. That is more than twice the European average of 12% and above the global figure of 20%. It also means that three in four Swedish employees are not engaged at work. Here are the numbers, what they say about Swedish teams, and what a manager can do with them when planning 2027.
How engaged are Swedish employees in 2026 compared to the rest of Europe?
In Sweden, 25% of employees are engaged at work, against 12% in Europe and 20% globally, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Another 68% are not engaged and 7% are actively disengaged. The Swedish figure is 1 point higher than the previous three-year rolling average.
| Measure | Sweden | Europe | Global |
|---|---|---|---|
| Engaged at work | 25% | 12% | 20% |
| Thriving in their overall lives | 69% | 49% | 34% |
| Felt stress a lot of the previous day | 34% | 39% | 40% |
| Felt anger a lot of the previous day | 14% | 15% | 22% |
| Felt sadness a lot of the previous day | 16% | 17% | 23% |
| Felt loneliness a lot of the previous day | 10% | 13% | 22% |
| Say it is a good time to find a job | 57% | 57% | 52% |
Gallup published the 2026 report in April 2026, based on data collected from January to December 2025. The country findings combine three years of polling, so a single year moves the figure slowly.
Employee engagement in Sweden 2026: what it says about teams
Sweden leads Europe, but most employees are still not engaged. At 25%, Sweden is more than twice the European average. Still, 68% of Swedish employees are not engaged, and that group is the largest one in almost every team.
Wellbeing is high and stress is lower. 69% of Swedish employees are thriving in their overall lives, against 49% in Europe and 34% globally. 34% felt stress a lot of the previous day, below Europe's 39%.
Loneliness is lower, but not zero. 10% of Swedish employees felt loneliness a lot of the previous day, against 13% in Europe and 22% globally. In a team of 30, that is about three people.
Anger and sadness went up slightly. Daily anger rose 3 points to 14%, and sadness rose 1 point to 16%, compared with the previous three-year average.
Fewer people see a good job market. 57% say it is a good time to find a job, 12 points lower than the previous average. When fewer people expect to find a new job easily, more of them may stay in roles where they are not engaged, which makes the 68% a question for the current team, not only for recruitment.
What can a manager do with Gallup's engagement numbers?
A manager can use Gallup's numbers as a baseline, not as a verdict. With 25% engaged in Sweden, a typical team has more not engaged colleagues than engaged ones. Ask your own team the same question, compare with 25%, and pick one concrete change for 2027 that the team itself can feel.
- Measure your own team. A short pulse question in a team meeting tells you more about your people than a national average.
- Talk about the work, one person at a time. Regular one-to-one conversations are where a manager hears what keeps someone engaged or not.
- Make time together count. In Compass Group's 2024 survey, 66% of Swedish hybrid workers said they look forward to going to the office to meet colleagues. Plan the shared days so that meeting colleagues actually happens.
- Give the team a shared experience. A shared activity does not fix engagement on its own. It gives people who rarely work together a common story and a reason to talk across roles.
Shared activities for a team in Stockholm
If your 2027 plan includes a shared team day, there are formats for every size. At Questrooms on Södermalm, the team building packages split 8 to 44 people into smaller teams that play escape rooms and VR games in parallel. Games such as Signal Lost VR, where robotic engineers try to save a falling space station, only work if the whole team talks. For bigger groups, Quest to Go brings an AR spy mission to your office for 19 to 200+ players.
| Format | Group size | Where | Price per person |
|---|---|---|---|
| Team package, escape rooms and VR | 8 to 44 | Kocksgatan 21A, Södermalm | 389 SEK, 349 SEK on weekdays 12:00 to 15:00 |
| Quest to Go | 19 to 200+ | Your office, a venue or a park | 389 SEK up to 50, 369 SEK for 51 to 100, 349 SEK over 100 |
The event price calculator estimates the price for your exact group before you send a request.
FAQ
What share of Swedish employees are engaged at work in 2026?
25% of employees in Sweden are engaged at work, according to Gallup's State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. Another 68% are not engaged and 7% are actively disengaged. The engaged share is 1 point higher than the previous three-year rolling average, and the data was collected from January to December 2025.
How does Sweden compare with Europe on employee engagement?
Sweden is well ahead of Europe. Gallup's 2026 report puts engagement at 25% in Sweden, against 12% for Europe as a whole and 20% globally. Swedish employees also report higher wellbeing: 69% are thriving in their overall lives, against 49% in Europe and 34% globally.
How stressed are employees in Sweden?
According to Gallup's 2026 report, 34% of employees in Sweden felt stress a lot of the previous day. That is below the European figure of 39% and the global figure of 40%, and unchanged from the previous three-year average. Daily loneliness is 10% in Sweden, against 13% in Europe.
When was Gallup's 2026 data collected?
Gallup published the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report in April 2026, based on data collected from January to December 2025. The country findings for Sweden combine data from three years of polling, so changes from one year to the next show up gradually rather than all at once.
Plan a team day for 2027
Send the date, the number of people and whether you want to come to Södermalm or play at your office through the team building page. Questrooms answers within one business day with a format and a price for your group.