Job insecurity

Is your job safe? Even with worldwide unemployment at its lowest level in decades, just 22% of workers confidently say yes.

Nowhere did we find a majority of workers who said with confidence that their jobs were safe. And in only one market—Nigeria—did the share of job-secure workers rise to more than a third. Our data also revealed big differences by geography, gender, job level, sector and work type. 

This insecurity has consequences for employees and employers alike. Our data shows that people who fear losing their jobs are less engaged at work, more stressed and less productive. They’re also much more likely to be spending time and energy looking for work elsewhere.

Older workers

For the first time in history, five generations are sharing the workplace. From teenagers to great-grandparents, these workers are presenting employers with new challenges and opportunities.

The share of older workers has been growing for decades as life expectancies rise and fertility rates fall.

Our findings paint a grim picture of this large and important group. People aged 55 and older were more likely than other age cohorts to doubt their skills. They were the least likely to feel supported by their colleagues and employers. And they were more likely than other workers to feel financially insecure and unfairly paid.

As these people remain in the labour market, employers could be missing out on opportunities to help them deliver their best.

Young workers

Young adults are starting their careers earlier, while older workers are sticking around longer than their parents or grandparents did. Even without the added challenges of advancing technology and economic uncertainty, this demographic change has, on its own, created a uniquely complex workforce.

As a group, young workers are more likely than their seasoned colleagues to believe their skills and education will propel them along a career path. They’re more confident in landing the next promotion.

This sunny outlook, however, is relative. While sentiment among 18- to 26-year-olds tends to be relatively upbeat, there’s plenty of room for improvement. A big share of workers, young and old, told us it’s become more difficult to change jobs, and too many people of all ages feel they lack the skills needed to advance.

Unpaid work

For most workers, it’s normal to put in a few unpaid hours once in a while. In fact, a large group — 62% of workers worldwide — told us they put in up to five hours of unpaid work each week.

The other 38% are working off the clock, too. But they’re doing it a lot more. Twelve percent of respondents said they work without pay for 16 or more hours a week.

Our data suggests that many workers put in extra time because they want to, not out of a sense of obligation. But there were downsides, too, in the form of greater stress and a higher likelihood of turnover.

The upshot? All that unpaid time isn’t necessarily a win for employers. Unpaid work comes at a cost.

Artificial intelligence

Generative artificial intelligence burst onto the scene in 2022. Less than four years later, adoption is widespread. Half of the workers we surveyed worldwide said they use AI at least once a week. One in 5 said they use it nearly every day.

As the effects of this rapid uptake ripple across workplaces, we found some positive outcomes for workers, such as higher engagement and less stress. Our survey also revealed a gap between an AI promise and reality: artificial intelligence, so far, hasn’t delivered on one of its biggest expected benefits, increased productivity.

Engagement

Worker engagement has been improving since the coronavirus pandemic, but fewer than one in five people worldwide were fully engaged on the job in 2025, a share that was unchanged from a year earlier.

That means that most people — 80% — aren’t giving it their all at work. This year, we looked into a handful of markets to learn why workers in one place might not be as engaged as those in another.

Workers in Brazil led the world in engagement in 2025, with 29% fully engaged, an increase of two percentage points from 2024. China had the smallest share of engaged workers, at only 11%, down three percentage points from 2024. In our People at Work 2026 report, we tell you what’s going on in these labour markets and others.