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Improving engagement is a priority for many organizations. You introduce new initiatives, invest in better communication, and offer more perks, all in the hope of creating a more connected and motivated workplace. But even with those efforts, something can still feel off. Engagement doesn’t always respond the way you expect.

So what if the most important factor isn’t what you’re doing, but how your leadership team is showing up?

The truth is: Employee engagement isn’t rooted in surface-level perks. It grows through trust, meaningful feedback, and consistent support from leaders in the moments that matter most. Understanding that connection is the first step toward creating real impact. WorkTango examines how leadership can affect engagement among employees and how surveys can help.

How leadership affects employee engagement

Employee engagement is built (or broken) by leadership.

Your employees are paying attention. They see how leaders communicate, how they handle feedback, and whether or not they follow through. These behaviors directly shape how connected employees are to their work and your culture.

That’s why engagement isn’t just an HR initiative. It’s an organization-wide initiative that relies heavily on leaders.

It’s no surprise that employee engagement and leadership development are now ranked among the top three priorities for businesses in 2025, according to Society for Human Resource Management research. And it’s also why organizations that treat leadership development and engagement as separate priorities often struggle to move the needle on either.

To support engagement, leaders need clarity on what effective leadership looks like and how their behavior shapes the employee experience.

Leadership styles and how they influence employee engagement

Leaders don’t all show up the same way, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. WorkTango developed five core leadership archetypes that show up across organizations. Each has a distinct way of building engagement and supporting team success.

• Strategists focus on long-term goals. They help employees understand how their work connects to the bigger picture and bring clarity through strong planning and decision-making.
• Collaborators build trust and inclusion. They focus on relationships, make space for different perspectives, and create a sense of safety and belonging across their teams.
• Influencers motivate people around a shared vision. They bring energy, visibility, and clear direction, helping employees feel connected to the work and inspired to move it forward.
• Executors keep teams focused and accountable. They’re action-oriented, reliable, and help employees stay clear on what needs to happen and when.
• Communicators help employees feel informed. They promote transparency, active listening, and effective communication so teams feel seen, heard, and in the loop.
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Tipping in America historically has been more about gratitude for good service than giving a set amount. Nowadays, with more tipping options popping up everywhere from coffee shops to self-checkout kiosks, the pressure to give has become a reflection of local economics, labor laws, and cultural norms. Americans across the country are beginning to rethink how much, when, and whether to tip at all.

This phenomenon is not occurring evenly across the country. Spokeo put together data from leading sources, including LendingTree, OysterLink, Toast, and more, to demonstrate the wide variation in tipping behavior across states. Much like a people search can reveal how location shapes someone’s background, this data shows how geography influences generosity. From minimum wage laws to tourism economies, learn what’s driving the trends behind where Americans tip the most and the least on average.

The national picture and the top and bottom states

On a national level, tipping remains deeply ingrained in American culture, especially in everyday settings like restaurants and bars. In data gathered from Toast’s Restaurant Trends report, from the first quarter of 2025, it’s clear to see a trend:

Spokeo

States with the lowest tipping averages still hover around 17%, showing how tipping culture clearly has not gone away. That said, the heat map shows just how widely tipping varies across the country. According to data from restaurant and hospitality job platform OysterLink, the following five states have the highest average tip rates, all above 20%:

1. Delaware — 21.5%
2. West Virginia — 20.5%
3. New Hampshire — 20.4%
4. Indiana — 20.4%
5. Kentucky — 20.3%

One of the main characteristics of all these states is a large service-sector workforce. Conversely, the five worst tipping states are:

1. California — 17.3%
2. Washington — 17.8%
3. Nevada — 18.1%
4. Florida — 18.2%
5. Texas — 18.7%

Lower wages compared to the cost of living, tighter household budgets, and different expectations all play a role in keeping tipping averages below the national norm in these states.

Why states differ: 3 key drivers

While a 4.2% differential between the highest-tipping state and the lowest-tipping state on an average basis may not seem like a lot, it amounts to $17.30 versus $21.50 on a $100 tab. This can easily add up over time for those who rely on tips to supplement their income. There are three

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Starting a company with someone you trust can feel effortless at first. You’re aligned on the idea, feeling excited about what you’re building together, and running on momentum. Talking about money can feel awkward, overly formal, or unnecessary — especially if you’re friends, former colleagues, or long-time collaborators.

But here’s the truth most cofounders learn the hard way: Startups don’t usually fall apart because the product fails. They fall apart because expectations were never aligned about money, risk, and what happens when things get hard.

A “cofounder prenup” creates early clarity. It’s a set of honest, upfront conversations that help you protect your relationship, the company, and yourselves before capital, equity, or stress complicate everything. The goal is simply to ensure no one is silently carrying assumptions that could later turn into resentment.

So, before that first payment hits your bank account, Mercury, a fintech platform that offers business and personal banking services*, shares what every founding team should talk through together, in the open, to avoid money issues between cofounders.

What’s a cofounder prenup?

If you were getting married to the love of your life, even though you trust that person, you’d probably still talk about finances before making it a done deal, not because you’re planning for disaster, but because pretending money won’t matter is optimistic. You’d likely discuss things like: How do we split expenses? What’s our budget? What happens if one person earns more — or nothing at all — for a while?

A cofounder prenup involves having that same conversation, but with your business partner. It’s not an actual legal document, but rather a set of honest conversations to help you get aligned and document your approach to handling money.

Starting a company together is a legal partnership with real financial consequences. There’s cofounder equity split, risk, debt, outside investors, and long stretches where the business might not pay you at all. And yet, many founders jump in without ever saying out loud what they’re assuming will happen.

Take these cautionary tales from Reddit threads:

• One co-founder says she lost trust over a cofounder equity split dispute.
• One says their co-founder is too risk-averse when it comes to spending.
• Another says their co-founder is spending too much.
• One is unsure how to navigate a partnership with co-founders with different salary needs.

These examples are exactly why the cofounder prenup is so im

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Taking your first international trip is equal parts exciting and nerve-wracking. You’re navigating unfamiliar airports, relying on Google Maps more than you’d like to admit, and discovering that you’re more capable than you thought. For many first-time travelers—particularly college students making the most of their academic breaks—the right destination makes all the difference. The ideal first trip abroad should be walkable, safe, and easy to navigate, giving you room to build confidence without feeling overwhelmed.

EF Ultimate Break highlights 10 destinations that offer memorable experiences without breaking the bank or your comfort zone.

1. Edinburgh, Scotland

Edinburgh feels like training wheels for first-time travel. It’s compact, easy to walk, and full of history without feeling stuffy. You can wander the Royal Mile, hike Arthur’s Seat for a reset moment, and pop into cozy cafés without feeling awkward being alone. It’s calm outside festival season in August, safe, and confidence-boosting. And a huge plus — there’s no language barrier.

2. London, England

If you’re nervous about traveling abroad for the first time, London is a great first destination. The language barrier is nonexistent, public transportation is extremely straightforward, and there’s something to do in every neighborhood. You’ll find familiar comforts alongside new experiences, making it easy to ease into international travel without feeling overwhelmed.

3. Paris, France

While Paris is great as a first-time international destination, it’s also surprisingly great solo, especially if you lean into slower days. Walk along the Seine, people-watch from a café, journal in a park, repeat. You don’t need an intense itinerary here; just being in the city is enough. It’s also a good place to practice being comfortable alone in public.

4. Prague, Czech Republic

Prague is affordable, stunning, and easy to navigate, which is exactly what you want on a first international trip. The city center is very walkable, hostels are social, and you can see a lot in a short amount of time. It’s ideal if you want history, good food, and low stress.

5. Dublin, Ireland

Dublin is friendly in a way that makes travel feel less intimidating. Locals actually talk to you, pubs feel welcoming even if you show up alone, and day trips are easy to plan. It’s a great place to ease into conversations and make friends you will keep for years past your trip.

6. Valencia, Spain

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Pay transparency is quickly turning into a front-end requirement, not a late-stage negotiation. In a new 2026 hiring survey from Patriot Software, an accounting and payroll software provider for small businesses, job seekers describe salary visibility as a trust signal and a time-saver, especially in a market shaped by layoffs, role consolidation, and longer hiring cycles.

The clearest line in the sand: 44% say they’re unlikely to apply when a posting doesn’t include a pay range.

Key findings (the stats doing the most damage)

• 44% are unlikely to apply to a job posting without a listed pay range.
• 84% believe companies hide pay to reduce workers’ negotiating power.
• 17% received an offer below the posted range when pay was disclosed.
• Among Gen Z, 42% say the top transparency practice that would boost applying and accepting is a clear explanation of how pay is set.

Pay transparency has become an application filter

Employers have long framed pay silence as “flexibility.” Candidates are increasingly treating it as a reason to walk away. Nearly half of respondents say they won’t apply if a pay range is missing, turning compensation disclosure into a first-round screening tool before any recruiter ever reaches out.

Candidates think secrecy is a strategy, not oversight

Job seekers aren’t guessing at why pay is hidden. A striking 84% say companies keep pay vague to limit negotiation leverage. That suspicion runs even deeper among higher earners, where 35% of respondents making over $150,000 believe delayed pay disclosure is used to underpay.

Transparency without follow-through backfires

Posting a pay range isn’t a credibility win if it doesn’t hold through the offer stage. Seventeen percent of respondents say they were offered below the posted range when a range was disclosed. For candidates, that gap turns “transparency” into a broken promise and can erode trust faster than saying nothing at all.

Gen Z wants the logic, not just the number

Younger workers are pushing beyond “What’s the range?” to “How does pay actually work here?” Among Gen Z respondents, 42% say the single most helpful transparency practice is a clear explanation of how pay is set, pointing to rising demand for clarity on progression, criteria, and fairness, not just a band of numbers.

Summary

The takeaway is less philosophical than practical: Pay transparency is already changing hiring behavior. Job seekers are using salary visibility to decide where to spend their time, and they’re reading compensation clarity as a proxy for respect and trust. For small businesses trying to compete on speed and credibility, visible pay ranges and consistent follow-through are rapidly becoming baseline expectations.

Methodology

Patriot Software reports results from a January 2026 survey conducted via Pollfish of 1,000 U.S. adults who applied for at least one job in the past 12 months, across multiple industries.

In the survey, participants answered questions about job postings, pay disclosure, interview experiences, and how compensa