Thriving Is Diving: What’s Behind the Employee Satisfaction Slump?

Employees aren’t thriving — and that’s an operational liability.

According to research from consulting firm Marsh, employee sentiment in the U.S. and abroad soured between 2024 and 2026. This was evident in workers who:

Described themselves as “thriving” at work. Down from 66% in 2024 to 44% in 2026 (just 9% of workers in lower socioeconomic groups said they were thriving, and those in Generation Z reported the steepest drop, from 70% to 39%).
Were deeply unsatisfied at work and planned to leave their roles as quickly as possible. Increased from 4% to 12%.
Were unsatisfied at work but felt they had no other choice but to remain in their roles for the coming year. Up from 14% to 26%.

“Most employees aren’t struggling — but most aren’t thriving either, and that is new,” said Kate Bravery, a senior partner and insight leader at Marsh, who noted that after years of steady increases, the 2026 drop marks the lowest level of thriving in the firm’s research history. “What concerns me is the speed of the fall. When a decline is that broad, you’re looking at systemic pressures, not a few bad workplaces.”

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The Components of Thriving

What exactly signifies employee “thriving”? It’s not the absence of stress, experts reiterate, but rather the convergence of multiple drivers, including:

A sustainable workload and recovery time;
Connection and support through peer and manager relationships;
Meaningful work;
Career growth opportunities, and skills development and recognition;
Pay and benefits that feel equitable and fair;
A sense of role security and stability amid change;
Agency, autonomy and control over work; and,
Feeling that “you can be yourself” at work.

“Thriving is an interconnection of all of the dimensions — mental, emotional, physical, social, financial and professional,” said Laine Thomas Conway, the vice president of delivery enablement and engagement at benefit services provider Alight. “Someone can’t thrive if they have only one of those elements that’s being knocked out of the park.”

“The next frontier isn't another well-being benefit. It’s designing an organization in which people can sustainably perform.”
— Tom McMullen, senior client partner, Korn Ferry

Why Diminished Thriving Is an HR Concern

Employees are thriving less for a number of reasons, said Tom McMullen, a senior client partner in performance and total rewards at consulting firm Korn Ferry. He cited:

Heavier workloads;
Perpetual transformation;
Uncertainty around artificial intelligence (AI);
Financial strain;
Shifting skills requirements; and,
Work design that simply makes thriving impossible.

“We’ve spent years asking employees to be more resilient when we should have been asking whether the organization is creating unnecessary friction,” McMullen said. “At some point, the organizational appetite for change exceeds the human capacity to absorb it. The next frontier isn't another well-being benefit. It’s designing an organization in which people can sustainably perform.”

According to recent Alight research, 73% of workers report high or moderate levels of stress. They pointed to several reasons, with personal finances as the leading factor, followed by their job, physical health, and the economic climate and current events, Thomas Conway said.

Figuring out why workers aren’t thriving gives employers a path forward. Bravery said not addressing those factors poses risks, including:

Workforce turnover and the loss of longstanding institutional knowledge;
Low return on substantial AI investments; and,
Employee disengagement.

“We have a workforce that is anxious and stuck at the same time,” she said. “Psychologically, that combination is corrosive. The most expensive employee isn’t the one who leaves. It’s the one who wants to leave and doesn’t.”

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