Predictive Success Blog

The Quiet Cracking Crisis: Why Employee Engagement Is Falling Fast—and What to Do About It

The New Danger: Quiet Cracking

A recent Business Insider article introduces a worrying phenomenon in the workplace: “quiet cracking.” It describes a stressful situation where employees continue to show up for work—but internally, they’re slowly fracturing. They’re not formally resigning, but they’re disengaging at a deep, silent level. This is where The Predictive Index and employee engagement intersect—because when organizations have the tools to understand what truly drives their people, they can spot disengagement early and take action before productivity and morale collapse. (businessinsider.com)

Here’s how Gallup’s findings illuminate this trend:

• Global employee engagement dropped from 23% to 21%, marking only the second drop in the past 12 years (the other was in 2020), and this erosion cost the global economy around US $438 billion in lost productivity Business Insider+1.

• Manager engagement is a critical factor—Gallup reports that manager engagement dropped from 30% to 27% in 2024, pulling down engagement across teams. Only 44% of managers globally have received formal management training, a major contributing factor Business InsiderWall Street Journal.

• The Financial Times underlined that manager training and development are pivotal—engaged managers can elevate engagement rates up to 70% when they are supported, coached, and emotionally present Financial Times.

In short: employees are cracking—but quietly. Their disengagement represents a looming threat to productivity, workplace culture, and overall resilience.

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Why So Many Organizations Are Vulnerable

Hidden Burnout & Manager Overload

Quiet cracking doesn’t look like classic burnout. Instead, it’s insidious:

• People may become fatigued, regularly ill, or distant—or high performers may start producing below their usual standard Business Insider.

• For managers, the pressures have become overwhelming. They juggle remote work expectations, AI disruptions, economic volatility, hybrid teams, and administrative demands—all often without proper training or coaching Business InsiderWall Street Journal.

• When managers flounder, their teams follow—emotional well-being and workplace morale falter.

The ROI of Engagement Is Massive

The stakes couldn’t be higher:

• Engagement boosts psychological ownership and innovation, reducing stress and turnover

• Historically, firms with highly engaged employees outperformed peers—even seeing EPS growth that’s more than double Wikipedia.

So when engagement dips—even slightly—the impact compounds quickly and painfully.

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The Predictive Index®: A Strategic Answer

That’s where The Predictive Index® (PI), delivered by Certified Elite Partner Predictive Success, becomes invaluable.

What Is The Predictive Index®?

PI is a talent optimization platform grounded in decades of behavioral science. It provides:

• Behavioral, Cognitive, and Job Assessments to align individual traits with role requirements.

• Data-driven insights to inform hiring, team development, leadership coaching, and ongoing culture alignment.

• Integration flexibility—PI connects with major Applicant Tracking Systems and HR platforms, unifying people data with business processes. Predictive Success

Delivered by Predictive Success

Predictive Success is a Founding Partner and Certified Elite Partner based in Canada (with offices in Whitby, Toronto area, and Vancouver)—and backed by over 20 years of partnership with PI Predictive SuccessMarketWatch. Their local coverage across provinces ensures deep expertise and commitment.

Their team includes seasoned leaders like David Lahey (President & PI Master Analyst since 1988) and others with consulting experience in leadership, operations, and talent strategy The Predictive Index.

Clients report tangible impact:

• One hospitality client saw 17–30% increases in performance and productivity after working with Predictive Success The Predictive Index.

• Predictive Success underscores that PI helps organizations remove bias, improve hiring, boost engagement, retain high-performers, and enhance strategic success—all with solid metrics backing it ⎯ for example, 67% improved engagement, 3× better retention of top performers, 34% higher employee performance Predictive Success.

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Bridging the Gap: PI and Manager-Driven Engagement

Leadership Detection and Development

PI equips leaders—and particularly managers—with:

• Behavioral insights that help them understand both their own leadership styles and how to adapt to team needs.

• Predictive data to support hiring, promote-fit, and create alignment—ensuring managers are placed in roles where they can succeed and lead effectively.

Preventing Quiet Cracking Through Early Detection

• By using PI assessments, organizations can identify misfit roles or performance mismatches before engagement slips.

• Consistent team diagnostics and pulse surveys via PI (and facilitated by Predictive Success) help monitor engagement trends—shining light on early signs of disengagement and preventing “quiet cracking.”

Managing Smarter, Not Harder

• PI gives managers the communication and motivational tools to connect with employees meaningfully.

• When leaders understand what drives each team member’s engagement, they can tailor support, reduce overwhelm, and combat disengagement proactively.

• This fosters a culture where managers are supported—bolstering their own engagement, which then elevates their teams (a virtuous cycle aligned with Gallup’s insights) Business InsiderWall Street Journal.

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A Strategic Blueprint: Rescuing Engagement with PI and Predictive Success

Here’s how a typical transformation journey might unfold:

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Closing Thoughts: Restoring Engagement, One Role at a Time

The reality is stark: engagement has fallen, managers are stretched thin, and employees are silently cracking. The cost of inaction is enormous—in productivity, morale, and retention.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

The Predictive Index®, delivered through the expertise of Certified Elite Partner Predictive Success, offers a proven, science-backed framework to:

1. Diagnose and understand the human side of your business

2. Equip managers with the insights and skills to lead effectively

3. Align roles, teams, and strategy to culture

4. Catch disengagement early—and reverse it

As your organization faces pressure and uncertainty, now is the time to act. Quiet cracking doesn’t need to become loud collapse. And with PI and Predictive Success, you can proactively build resilience—supporting managers, empowering employees, and safeguarding engagement.

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Links for Further Reading & Resources

• Read the Business Insider recap on “quiet cracking” and the Gallup findings: Business Insider

• Explore how manager engagement drops are dragging productivity—and what training can do: Business InsiderWall Street Journal

• Learn why investing in managers is key to engagement at scale: Financial Times

• Dive deeper into the Predictive Index® Talent Optimization Platform: Predictive Success

• Discover how Predictive Success delivers PI and drives real results: The Predictive IndexMarketWatch