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Hey Reader,

Last week we talked about people hiding their AI use because they were afraid of being judged. This week it's something people hide even more often: being worn out. Most of your team won't tell you they're running on empty. Not because they don't trust you, but because nobody asked the right question.

So this week is about one question. It's the best one I know for a one-on-one, and it takes about 30 seconds to ask:

“What gives you energy, and what drains it?”

You can't buy engagement. You build it, one conversation at a time. Culture is built, not bought.

01 · Culture

"I'm fine" is the most expensive answer in your building

Hubstaff surveyed 1,068 full-time U.S. workers in computer-based jobs this October. 69% said they'd been burned out in the past 12 months, and 55% said they'd told their manager everything was fine when they were actually overwhelmed. [1]

It gets worse. 47% of the burned-out employees said their manager or employer didn't know. And when the manager did know, 64% said nothing changed. Only 19% of burned-out employees said their manager both knew and did something about it. [1]

Quick professor's note: this is one online survey, unweighted, of people who mostly work at a computer. And Hubstaff sells time-tracking software, so it has a reason to say managers can't see the whole workday. Don't fixate on the exact percentages. Look at the pattern: people say "fine" when they aren't, and even when the boss finds out, little changes.

Now the good news. Gallup says one habit matters more than most for a manager: a meaningful conversation with each person at least once a week. Across seven studies and 44,025 responses, about seven in 10 employees were engaged when they strongly agreed they'd had meaningful feedback in the past week, compared with about one in four when they didn't. Yet only 16% of nearly 15,000 employees said their last conversation with their manager was extremely meaningful. And it doesn't have to be long: Gallup says 15 to 30 minutes, done consistently, is enough. [2]

That's why I love the energy question. "How are you doing?" gets you "fine." "What gives you energy, and what drains it?" gets you specifics: the client call they dread, the report nobody reads, the project they'd stay late for without being asked. Specifics are something a manager can actually act on.

Your homework: in every one-on-one this week, ask it word for word. Then be quiet and let them think. Write down one energizer and one drain for each person. Before next week, do one thing about one drain, even something small. Then tell them what you did. That last step is the one most managers skip, and it's the one that turns a question into trust.

02 · Leadership

Ask your managers too. Their tank is low.

Gallup's 2026 State of the Global Workplace report found global employee engagement fell to 20% in 2025, the lowest since 2020. The biggest drop was among managers. Manager engagement fell from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025, and Gallup says lower manager engagement accounts for much of the decline. [3]

Here's why that matters for your team. Managers are the people asking the energy question. A drained manager has a hard time noticing a drained team, and an even harder time doing something about it.

Your move: if you lead leaders, ask them the same question this week. And if you're a manager, answer it for yourself. What's one drain you can drop or hand off before Friday?

Worth 5 minutes

• Gallup: Span of Control, What's the Optimal Team Size for Managers? Why weekly, meaningful conversations matter more than how many people report to you.

• Hubstaff: State of the Workweek 2026 The full burnout and AI workload report behind story #1.

Forwarded this by a friend? Get The Digital Strategy Brief every Thursday. It's free.

Hit reply and tell me: what drains your energy at work right now? I read every reply, I won't share names, and the best answers may end up in a future issue.

Forward this to a manager who'd take it.

See you next Thursday,

Dave​
The Digital Strategy Professor

Sources

1. Hubstaff, "State of the Workweek 2026: Burnout, AI, and the Work Employers Don't See," press release Oct. 27, 2026 (Pollfish survey of 1,068 full-time U.S. workers in computer-based roles, Oct. 2026, unweighted, ±3 pts). prnewswire.com​
2. Jim Harter, Gallup, "Span of Control: What's the Optimal Team Size for Managers?" Jan. 13, 2026 (seven studies, 44,025 responses). gallup.com​
3. Jim Harter and Ryan Pendell, Gallup, "Global Employee Engagement Continues Decline," April 7, 2026, from the State of the Global Workplace: 2026 Report. gallup.com​

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