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By Aman Kidwai
Workplaces Editor
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Morale is low in the working world, according to Glassdoor and other recent surveys. The employer-review platform recently published data stating that employees' reporting a positive outlook for the next six months has fallen to 45.1 percent, its lowest level since February 2024. It also represents a decline of 10 percentage points since 2022.
"The weak employee sentiment in January may reflect some resurgent economic anxiety," wrote Daniel Zhao, lead economist at Glassdoor. "The share of Glassdoor reviews that mentioned layoffs rose 5 [percent] month-over-month in January. Layoff mentions were elevated over the course of 2024 and are up 2 [percent] year-over-year."
Perhaps not surprisingly, the government and public administration sector saw the largest drop among employees. The Trump administration has made a slew of changes affecting federal workers, including office attendance mandates and program budget cuts.
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Among industries, hotels & travel accommodation, manufacturing, and transportation & logistics have seen the largest year-over-year dips in the Glassdoor data.
Additional research backs the claim of declining employee sentiment at work. In January, Gallup found that employee engagement hit a 10-year low while the share of actively disengaged employees, 17 percent, also represents a figure last seen in 2014. The survey company's report noted that employee detachment is a growing trend, "particularly among workers younger than 35."
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Earlier research from Gallup in December 2024 found people are seeking new jobs at the highest rate since 2015 and satisfaction with employers has "returned to a record low." Field researchers from the company highlighted five factors driving this shift in employee sentiment:
1) Rapid Organizational Change: Seventy-three percent of employees have experienced disruptive changes in the past year, and, the report says, 55 percent of "managers are reporting disruption from the restructuring of teams." Sixty-nine percent of managers said additional job responsibilities for workers have led to disruptive change, while 46 percent have reported budget cuts.
2) Hybrid vs. Remote vs. the Office: The battle over office attendance continues.
3) Rising Customer Expectations: This includes demands for a better digital customer experience.
4) New Employee Expectations: During the pandemic, lockdown and subsequent fallout, many people have changed their outlook on the role of work in their lives and what they want from it, Gallup noted in the study.
5) Bad Performance Management: Gallup pointed out that leaders and employees alike are severely lacking confidence in their performance management systems.
Christie Smith, a longtime HR consultant and former vice president in inclusion and diversity at Apple, previously told Newsweek that employee engagement is in a state of crisis, pointing to insufficient mental health support, political disagreement, skills scarcity, fears around AI and technology, and the fallout of such a tumultuous era coming out of the pandemic.
Smith also postulated that some corporate decisions have factored into declining employee sentiment, including rising layoffs.
"I think it is the lack of investment in education for employees to do their jobs, or to upskill them or reskill them. Also, the behaviors of CEOs not living up to the purpose of their organizations and, frankly, disenfranchising much of their workforce," she said. "I think it's rhetoric, plus lack of investment and courage."
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