Dive Brief:
- Employee confidence reached its lowest-ever point in Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index last month, the company said Monday, reflecting growing concerns about job security and cost increases.
- Glassdoor found that 43.5% of employees reported a positive six-month business outlook in July, down from 44.4% in June. According to the index, telecommunications workers experienced the largest year-over-year drop in confidence of any sector at 13.9 percentage points. Hotel and travel accommodations and insurance also experienced a double-digit decline.
- Other industries, including HR, saw an increase in confidence over the past year. Senior-level employee confidence improved in July while that of entry-level employees remained weak. Glassdoor said a weak job market for the latter cohort has contributed to their outlook, while other negative factors affecting overall sentiment include rising energy prices and pressures to implement artificial intelligence at work.
Dive Insight:
The company’s findings reveal a continuing downward trend in employee confidence dating back to the middle of 2025. The share of workers reporting a positive outlook hovered over 50% between 2018 and 2023 but has generally declined since that time, according to Glassdoor data going back to 2016.
Workplace research has broadly confirmed a mood of discontent in the U.S. workforce. While corporate profits have grown in recent months, just 28% of workers in a recent Gallup report said they believed the current job market provided a good shot at finding a quality job, and employee engagement fell to its lowest level in a decade. The firm’s findings led it to conclude that workers were “restless but largely immobile.”
The issues cited are wide-ranging. Most employees surveyed by Bank of America in late 2025 and early 2026 said they were worried about the economy and inflation, with 75% reporting that the cost of living challenged their financial security. A growing share have said they are concerned about AI and its potential effect on their careers, according to JFF. Still others cite their frustrations with toxic leaders and inefficient or broken workplace systems.
Those dynamics offer a potentially bleak outlook for employers. While employees have largely stayed put during a time of economic uncertainty, many expect to change jobs within the next year, according to data published in June by Eagle Hill Consulting. Historically high retention rates therefore shouldn’t lull organizations into complacence, Eagle Hill President and CEO Melissa Jezior said last month, but should instead lead employers to consider investing in initiatives like career development, leadership and total rewards that could convince employees to stay.
Compensation practices might be one area for employers to focus their efforts. Overall pay increases are expected to remain stagnant going into 2027, WTW said in a July report. Yet, the firm found that employers are nonetheless thinking more strategically about incentives, including bonuses, spot rewards and higher salary ranges to pay key employees.
