The National Weather Service (NWS) has not issued more flash flood warnings so far in 2025 than in any other year in more than a generation. This year through July 15 has now eclipsed 1998 for the most warnings of any year since 1986, according to NWS.

This year also ranks second for the number of flash flood emergencies with 47. Only 2016 had more flash flood emergencies by this date, with 51 such warnings.

Some areas have been hit harder than others. Of the 3,000 warnings issued this year, the Appalachians, Ozarks, and Southern Plains recorded the most.

NWS’ office in Raleigh, North Carolina, has also issued the highest number of warnings to date for their area. In Texas, from the Hill Country to Houston, 12 flash flood emergencies were issued from January to July.

July also started with a flurry of flood reports from the mid-Atlantic to the Appalachians and across Texas. More than 1,200 reports of flooding were sent to the NWS.

As of midyear, Gallup data showed less than one-third (32%) of employees are engaged in their work—a stagnation that points to deeper organizational challenges.

Leading organizations have increased in complexity with transitions to hybrid and remote work, rapid organizational change, new customer and employee experience expectations, inefficient performance management practices, and changes in technology.

Since 2000, Gallup has used employee engagement surveys to track and measure U.S. engagement in the workplace. In the decade following the 2008 global economic crisis, engagement climbed steadily, peaking at 36% in early 2020. Then came the pandemic, and with it, the Great Resignation. Since 2021, engagement has generally declined, hitting an 11-year low of 30% in 2024.

With the cost of disengagement in the U.S. now at approximately US$2 trillion in lost productivity, Gallup’s latest research sheds light on why engagement is important on a macro scale:

• 47% of employees strongly agree that they know what is expected of them at work.
• 31% strongly agree that someone at work encourages their development.
• 32% feel strongly connected to their organization’s mission or purpose.
• 28% strongly agree that their opinions count at work.

Further complicating things, fewer than one in five employees (19%) are extremely satisfied with their employer as a place to work, and most (51%) are still actively looking or keeping an eye out for job openings elsewhere.

To understand the gap between what organizations do and what employees need, Gallup asked employees what is missing from their work experience that would make them feel more connected to their employer. Their responses fell into four core themes affecting workplace engagement: A Sense of Belonging, Autonomy, Wellbeing, and Values.

Thirty-two percent describe their workplace as isolated or impersonal, lacking the conditions that help people feel emotionally connected to their teams. For Gen Z workers (44%) and remote employees (41%), the lack of cohesion is even more stark.

Over a quarter (29%) said they lack clear, honest, or consistent communication from leaders. Employees want transparent leadership, visibility, and two-way trust; not top-down directives in isolation. A quarter of employees said their organizations underinvest in people, pay, tools, and staffing.

Gallup’s global research shows that the No. 1 thing employees want from leaders is hope, which means having a clear vision of the future and their role in it. For leaders genuinely asking how to engage employees, hope isn’t vague optimism. It comes from clarity, consistency, coaching and credibility, and is a foundation of successful employee engagement programs.