Only slight shifts in engagement have been recorded over the two decades in which companies like Gallup have been actively tracking employee engagement. As of 2021, engaged employees, who are involved and enthusiastic about work, make up about 30–35 percent of the workforce, and actively disengaged employees, who are miserable at work, make up about 15 percent of the workforce.¹ That leaves about 50 percent of employees in the middle who are "meh" about work—they neither love it nor hate it, and are probably looking for new jobs.¹ 

Since we are food safety enthusiasts, let us apply these basic engagement poll results to an essential food safety activity—handwashing. Based on survey results, 30–35 percent of people will be sure to wash their hands properly, about 15 percent of people will walk right past a handwash sink, and the other 50 percent may run water over their hands for a couple of seconds and call it "handwashing." Using this scenario, 30–35 percent of engaged employees are not enough to ensure proper handwashing or to build a sustainable, world-class food safety culture.