Sogolytics, a leading experience management platform, today published the Q1 2026 update to its Sogolytics Experience Index: Employee Edition, a quarterly tracker of employee experience across U.S. industries.  

The report, based on 1,001 full-time employee respondents, finds that satisfaction remains steady but shows no signs of deepening, and that organizations face growing pressure from widening gaps between what employees expect and what employers consistently deliver. 

Retention looks stable, but risk persists

60% of employees say they are very likely to stay with their current employer over the next year. But among that same group, 46% say better pay and benefits elsewhere could prompt them to leave, and 27% cite poor leadership or workplace culture as a potential trigger. Listening gaps undercut trust. 

80% of employees say their employer seeks input at least occasionally. Only 10% say that feedback always leads to meaningful change. That gap, between the act of collecting feedback and the experience of seeing it acted on, is where organizational trust erodes.  

Feedback frequency and transparency also show a sharp divide by job level: executives are nearly twice as likely as frontline employees to say decision-making is very transparent (44% vs. 17%), and far more likely to say feedback is collected very often (39% vs. considerably lower rates for entry-level staff). 

Technology helps, but human connection still carries weight

61% of employees say workplace technology improves their experience, a figure that has remained stable since 2025. At the same time, 41% of those employees responded that employee recognition would be better with more human interaction.  

Employees are most open to AI when it handles efficiency and repetitive tasks, with 42% citing workflow improvement as AI's greatest workplace benefit. Their top concerns center on accountability and connection, with 35% citing privacy, 34% pointing to loss of human connection and collaboration, and 33% expressing concern about lack of human oversight. 

Clear communication, fair pay, and WLB are expectations, not perks

A growing share of employees describes foundational workplace elements as baseline requirements rather than added benefits. Clear communication from leadership (31%), fair and transparent pay practices (28%), and work-life balance support (26%) top the list. Only 21% say their organization is highly prepared to meet future workplace expectations, signaling a widening readiness gap. 

The full Q1 2026 update to the Sogolytics Experience Index: Employee Edition is available here.