Worker stress is continuing to ramp up, and a new report shows that for the first time in decades, job satisfaction has become stagnant.
According to Gallup’s annual State of the Global Workplace report, 60% of employees stated they felt detached from their jobs last year, indicating a dire need for a workplace policy upheaval.
Although worker wellbeing increased from what was seen in 2020, it still remained below pre-pandemic levels with just 21% of respondents saying they felt engaged at their job.
Worryingly, 44% of workers stated that they were experiencing stress on the day before taking part in the survey, which is a record-high for Gallup’s reports.
Among workers who scored the lowest in wellbeing were those in South Asia — only 11% of respondents from this region said they were thriving at work.
On the other hand, workers in North America came out on top in terms of employee engagement and job opportunities. This discrepancy indicates a need to revamp workplace policies to prioritize the needs of employees, or face an uncertain and unstable future.
“Improving life at work isn’t rocket science, but the world is closer to colonizing Mars than it is to fixing the world’s broken workplaces,” said Jon Clifton, CEO of Gallup.
“Executives everywhere should want the world’s workers to thrive. And helping the world’s workers thrive starts with listening to them.”