INTHEBLACK July 2026 - Magazine - Page 8
FAST FOCUS
Number crunch
Words Susan Muldowney
42%
of global CFOs expect to boost their AI budgets by 30 per cent
or more over the next two years.
Source: Bain & Company
52%
of Australians have experienced a financial fraud attempt
in the past 12 months.
Source: Payment fraud prevention platform Eftsure
8 INTHEBLACK July 2026
Price of
engagement
High employee engagement remains
elusive across the globe, with results
of Gallup’s State of the Global
Workplace 2026 report showing
a decline in engagement for two
consecutive years. The two-point
decline is representative of 42 million
employees who have become
disconnected from their workplace
since 2023.
Engagement measures the
psychological attachment employees
have to their work, their team and
their employer. In South-East Asia,
this quality remains above the
global average, holding steady
at 25 per cent; Australia and
New Zealand saw a modest decline
and are now aligned with the global
average of 21 per cent.
Last year, low engagement cost
the world economy approximately
US$10 trillion (A$14.06 trillion)
in lost productivity, or 9 per cent
of GDP.
Read the report
