Workspan Daily News Bytes for Nov. 21, 2025

Report: Workers Increasingly Worried About Their Job Security

Layoff anxiety is on the rise, according to a survey of 3,063 U.S. workers by career website FlexJobs.

The 2025 Financial Pulse Report, released Wednesday, Nov. 12, revealed 26% of surveyed workers are more worried about being laid off now than they were six months ago. Another 23% said their concern has remained the same, while only 8% feel less worried and 29% said they’re not worried at all.

When asked how confident they are in their ability to find a new job within three months if they were laid off, workers responded:

Somewhat confident: 39%
Very confident: 28%
Not very confident: 21%
Not confident at all: 12%

Other key findings from the report included:

93% would leave their current jobs to pursue other ventures if money weren’t a factor.
64% define financial success as earning more than $100,000 per year.
65% would turn down a higher-paying job if it didn’t support their well-being.

Rising Prices Forcing Employees to Make Tough Choices

In a new survey of more than 1,200 U.S. workers by employment website Monster, 95% of respondents stated their wages have failed to keep up with the rising cost of living. The survey also found only 9% have received a raise or salary adjustment to offset higher costs, and 76% said recent economic policies under the new presidential administration have directly impacted their financial planning.

For example, more workers are cutting spending and/or dipping into savings to cover their costs.

75% have cut back on non-essential expenses (up from 69% in 2024).
58% delayed major purchases like a car or home.
55% reduced retirement or emergency fund contributions.
42% took on additional debt through credit cards or loans.

Because of this financial picture, 56% said they are searching for higher-paying jobs just to keep up.

Most Leaders Expect Big Productivity Gains from Workers’ AI Usage

Organizations are increasingly on the artificial intelligence (AI) bandwagon, and the primary reason appears to be productivity. A survey by AIResumeBuilder.com showed more than half of 1,250 surveyed business leaders expect a substantial return on productivity from their employees’ AI utilization, with:

36% saying they expect “a lot more” from these workers each week; and,
17% expecting “significantly more”.

In addition, 67% of respondents said employees who have AI skills have more job security. Polled leaders reported customer service and support (54%), administrative or clerical (49%), and IT and technical support (47%) roles are the most likely to be replaced. These functions overlap with the areas where AI is already most widely used, including data analysis (61%), summarizing meetings and documents (58%), and research (56%).

Ongoing Starbucks Strikes Affect More Than 65 Stores

More than 1,000 Starbucks workers launched an open-ended strike on Thursday, Nov. 13, after six months of negotiations stalled between employees and the coffee chain. The strike affects at least 65 Starbucks stores in 40 U.S. cities.

According to Starbucks Workers United, the company has refused to offer new proposals to address workers’ demands for better staffing, higher pay and resolution of hundreds of unfair labor practice charges.

“With no set end date to the strike, baristas across more than 550 current union stores are prepared to continue escalating to make this the largest, longest strike in company history if Starbucks fails to deliver a fair union contract and resolve unfair labor practice charges,” stated the press release.

On its website, Sara Kelly, Starbucks’ executive vice president and chief partner officer, said the company’s commitment to bargaining hasn’t changed and they are ready to talk when Starbucks Workers United is ready to come back to the table. “We believe we can move quickly to a reasonable deal,” she said.

Figures and Facts of the Week

26.8: The percentage of U.S. employees who left their jobs in 2025 due to a toxic work environment, followed by poor company leadership (24.2%) and unhappiness with their manager (22.8%), according to a 2025 Talent Retention Report by iHire, an employment platform.
44: The percentage of technology leaders who ranked AI ethical practices as a top skill they’d like to see from candidates applying for AI roles, according to “The Impact of Technology in 2026” report, conducted by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).
64: The percentage of workers who say their salary has not kept up with inflation. The survey of 981 full-time U.S. workers by Howdy, a recruitment software platform, also found 72% of surveyed workers want a higher salary, and 39% went without a pay raise at all in 2025.
69: The percentage of European employers who are considering new or expanded rollbacks on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs as a result of heightened scrutiny from U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration. The 2025 European Employer Survey Report by employment law firm Littler also found 79% of those with U.S. operations are facing challenges in managing the divergent approaches to DEI in the U.S. and Europe.
70: The percentage of higher-educations institutions that reported they employ at least one professional residing out of state (up from 63% in 2021-2022), suggesting they may be increasingly open to employing professionals living in another state. This is according to a new College and University Professional Association for Human Resources report, released Wednesday, Nov. 19.
15,000: The number of jobs telecommunications company Verizon plans to eliminate as CEO Dan Schulman aims for cost transformation and restructuring. Reuters reported the layoffs would affect about 15% of Verizon's workforce and reduce non-union management ranks by more than 20%.