“Employees’ self-reported wellbeing slightly declined across all dimensions since 2022. Less than two-thirds of workers say their physical and mental wellbeing are “excellent” or “good” (63 percent and 58 percent, respectively), and an even lower percentage rate their social (45 percent) and financial (35 percent) wellbeing positively.

In fact, most employees say their wellbeing either worsened or stayed the same last year, and only around one-third say their health improved. However, the C-suite presented a much different view: more than three out of four executives believe that their workforce’s wellbeing improved. This disconnect, which carries over from 2022, illustrates that leaders don’t have a firm grasp on how their teams are really doing.

The poor state of employees’ mental and physical wellbeing should be especially concerning for leaders. Many workers say they frequently feel negative emotions and fatigue. For example, 52 percent and 49 percent employees “always” or “often” feel exhausted and stressed, respectively. Others reported feeling overwhelmed (43 percent), irritable (34 percent), lonely (33 percent), depressed (32 percent), and even angry (27 percent). These issues aren’t limited to workers, however. Managers and executives are struggling too, and they are about as likely as employees (or in some cases, more likely) to report these sentiments.

Working on work

Eighty-four percent of survey respondents say that improving their wellbeing is a top priority this year, and 74 percent say it’s more important than advancing their career. However, 80 percent are facing obstacles—and most of these obstacles center around work. In fact, a heavy workload, stressful job, and long work hours topped the list of obstacles people say are getting in the way of improving their wellbeing, with nearly 74 percent saying they struggle to take time off or disconnect from work. Some other findings include:

• 52 percent reported they always or often use their vacation time annually

• 48 percent said they exercise each day

• 47 percent said they take microbreaks during the day

• 45 percent get at least seven hours of sleep

Given these findings, it’s not surprising that, like last year, only around one out of three employees feel their job has a positive impact on their physical (33 percent), mental (32 percent), and social (31 percent) wellbeing. Even more alarmingly, a significant percentage of employees say their job negatively affects their physical (33 percent), mental (40 percent), and social (21 percent) wellbeing.

Other key findings include a notable increase in the percentage of respondents reporting that they’re considering taking a job with another company that would better support their wellbeing. This year, 60 percent of employees and 75 percent of the C-suite say they’re seriously considering quitting, versus 57 percent and 69 percent last year, respectively. Nearly two-thirds of managers (64 percent) are also contemplating changing jobs in search of better well-being.”