Rita Men and the UFCJC Internal Communication Research Hub help validate results of the 2026 Integral Index study on employee engagement

The University of Florida College of Journalism and Communications (UFCJC) Internal Communications Research Hub, under the direction of Public Relations Professor Linjuan Rita Men, served as a validator for an interactive economic model that translates workplace conditions into annual dollar cost and value.

Integral, the employee experience agency, recently released the 2026 Integral Index conducted with The Harris Poll. The sixth annual study of the American workforce provides human resources and communications leaders with a clear view of what’s shaping how people are showing up to work and what to do about it.

This year’s theme, “The Engagement Fallacy,” speaks directly to conversations happening across industries and finds that the metric most organizations rely on to gauge workforce health is hiding their largest source of risk. One in three American employees looks engaged by every standard measure but they stay in their positions primarily out of fear of losing benefits.

That seemingly engaged group expects worse behavior from colleagues than any other segment that was measured, including the disengaged. For leaders navigating culture and reputation, the gap between engagement numbers and what employees live each day is a dangerous blind spot.

The Integral Index offers deep dives into artificial intelligence (AI) use and anxiety, remote/hybrid work, values, leadership and CEO-activation and social and political issues.

The 2026 Integral Index is based on a survey of more than 2,000 full-time U.S. employees at organizations with 100 or more employees, conducted February 3–18, 2026, weighted to U.S. census demographics.

The full study is available here.

Category: College News
Tagged: 2026 Integral Index Internal Communication Research Hub Linjuan Rita Men
Subscribe to our News Digest