Singapore: Singapore's workforce engagement stood below regional and global benchmarks, with only 14 percent of workers engaged at work, according to a study by the Singapore Institute of Directors (SID) and Gallup.According to Nam News Network, the inaugural Singapore Workplace Report 2026: Powering Singapore's Future, which was released on Monday, showed that Singapore's engagement level was well below the Southeast Asia average of 25 percent and the global mean of 20 percent.It said Singapore workers under 35 years reported an engagement rate of just 10 percent, compared to 16 percent among those aged 35 and over, a gap of six percentage points, nearly three times wider than the global gap of two percentage points.In comparison, employee engagement levels among regional peers were higher, with the Philippines recording 39 percent, followed by Thailand (34 percent), Indonesia (27 percent), and Malaysia (25 percent)."In 2025, 86 percent of Singapore's workforce was disengaged, costing the economy an estimated US$73.6 billion (US$1=RM4.13) in lost productivity annually. With gross domestic product (GDP) growth forecast to slow to 2.0-4.0 percent in 2026, the report argues that low engagement is transitioning from a cultural concern to a strategic liability," SID said in a statement.According to the report, stress levels among younger Singaporeans are also sharply elevated, with 53 percent reporting daily stress, compared with 37 percent of their older colleagues, it added.Meanwhile, SID chair Yeoh Oon Jin emphasized that companies must play an active role in fostering workplace cultures fit for the future. "Workforce engagement, organizational culture, and leadership capability are strategic priorities directly linked to productivity, innovation, resilience, and sustainable growth," he said.