In a “historic reversal,” employees now prioritize organizational stability — such as confidence in senior leaders and a company’s ability to adapt to change — over belonging and feeling valued, Perceptyx revealed in research published at the end of last year.
That shift may be driven by economic uncertainty, Perceptyx said. In turn, employees want to work at companies with credibility, stability and effective leadership.
“For nearly a decade, the strongest drivers of engagement were emotional and culture-based,” Brad Wilson, global head of workforce insights and innovation at Perceptyx, said in a statement. As of 2025, that has flipped. “Employees aren’t asking, ‘Do I feel valued today?’ They’re asking, ‘Do I believe this company will succeed and will I succeed with it?’ This is the biggest shift we’ve ever recorded.”
The research analyzed 20 million worker responses collected from a ten-year longitudinal study. Feelings of belonging and feeling valued were previously ranked the consistent top two engagement drivers from 2016 to 2024, Perceptyx said. In 2025, they fell to the bottom two positions (4th and 5th place, respectively).
Now, the top driver of engagement is the feeling that change is handled effectively at the company, according to the research.
Unfortunately for employers, change management may be consistently viewed as an organizational weakness, an Eagle Hill Consulting report noted in December. Only 1 in 4 U.S. workers surveyed said their organization effectively manages major change — though generations varied on whether that change actually made organizations better.
And while HR professionals report confidence in managing change, according to a Conference Board report, workers are limited in their ability to absorb change, a report from The Grossman Group said. More than half of business leaders surveyed said they expect to implement three or more changes in the next two years, but workers said they could only handle 1 to 2 major changes in a year.
Notably, employee engagement is “extra vulnerable” during change, Perceptyx said. Layoffs, reorganizations and M&A activity prompt declines in intent to stay, “further highlighting the importance of handling change effectively in today’s economic climate,” according to the report.
