Kenya is facing a potential workplace crisis as 82% of its labour force is either actively job hunting or passively watching for new opportunities, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2025 report.
- •This places the country among the top five globally — and well above the global average of 50% — for intent to leave.
- •Moreover, only 19% of Kenyan employees report being actively engaged at work, a level that reflects the average for Sub-Saharan Africa.
- •Despite the country’s growing tech sector, youthful workforce, and regional economic stature, the report suggests an array of conditions within many Kenyan organizations that contribute to chronic dissatisfaction and fragile morale.
Only 42% of Kenyan workers report that it’s a good time to find a job, despite widespread job seeking — highlighting the disconnect between labor demand and supply confidence.
The report underscores not only professional dissatisfaction but the personal strain that workplaces inflict on their employees. In Kenya, 28% of employees reported feeling lonely and isolated in their workplaces, 23% reported feeling sad after a day at their workplace, while 32% reported high stress levels — both metrics being above regional and global averages.
Across the Sub-Saharan region, Nigeria shows a relatively lower engagement at 17%, and 44% of its workforce views the current job market favorably. Conversely, South Africa is grappling with similar issues as Kenya, with only 23% of workers engaged, and 61% reporting intent to leave.
Employee engagement in Africa was highest in Senegal (43%), Rwanda (38%), and Liberia (37%). It was lowest in Ethiopia, Madagascar, and Eswatini — at 8% each. The regional employee engagement average was at 19%, lower than the global average which is also low at 21%. Sub-Saharan Africa’s ‘Intent to leave’ rate was at 72%, higher than the global average of 50%.
Gallup estimates that if all workplaces globally were fully engaged, it would unlock US$9.6 trillion in productivity—equal to 9% of global GDP.
For Kenya and its regional peers, this unrealized potential is even more pertinent, given their higher share of youth in the workforce and the rising cost of employee turnover in the digitized economy.
