Overview
- Mentions of “misalignment” in leadership reviews jumped 149% year over year, with “disconnect” up 24% and “distrust” up 26%.
- Layoffs affecting fewer than 50 people made up 51% of WARN notices in 2025, up from 38% in 2015, as monthly layoff totals returned near pre-pandemic norms.
- Remote and hybrid workers reported falling career opportunity ratings, down from 4.1 in 2020 to 3.5 in 2025, even as work-life balance remained relatively higher.
- AI exposure raised anxiety but showed only modest declines in satisfaction since 2022, with sharper drops concentrated in a few roles.
- Offer decline rates hit their lowest since 2020 as applicants were 12% less likely to reject offers than in 2023, while early-career pay is on track to surpass 2020 levels in 2026 with strongest gains in cities like Provo, Boise and Orlando.