People at Work: A Global Workforce View
For the past four years, ADP Research has surveyed workers around the globe to learn about their on-the-job experiences. This work has illuminated the world’s journey through a deep economic downturn, the subsequent cost-of-living crisis and monumental change tied to remote and hybrid work. As we’ve passed each of these milestones, People at Work has captured how the global labour force has adapted and changed. The world is shaking off its pandemic-driven upheaval, but change hasn’t slowed. As new opportunities and challenges reshape the labour market, workers in some ways have remained constant in their priorities—they still put great value on remuneration and job security, for example. But in other ways, they feel under threat from technology, stress and shifting workplace norms.
Using detailed survey responses from more than 34,000 workers in 18 countries, People at Work continues to capture this evolution. In 2024, we uncovered six key themes.
1. What workers want: pay—and more
2. What workers expect: pay increases
3. The promise and peril of remote work
4. ESG and DEI: a workforce divided
5. Career development: room for improvement
6. Stress, the constant companion
Workers put salary at the top of their priority list for the fourth year running. More than 55% of respondents rank pay among their top three job priorities. At the same time, employees are more dissatisfied with their pay than with any other prioritised attribute. Strengthening economies have elevated expectations for pay increases. Workers are largely unified on the priority of pay, but we captured regional and generational differences when it comes to other job values. Half of workers in the Asia Pacific region list job security as a high priority, second only to pay in importance for this region. Workers in Europe, by contrast, prize the day-to-day enjoyment of work over job security. Young workers, moreover, are making their presence known as a distinct global voice. One in five prioritise training and experience, more than any other age group. And while they want flexibility to do their work where and when they choose, young adults prioritise workplace flexibility less than other job attributes, possibly because they’ve grown to accept it as a given.
Our last survey captured high expectations for pay increases. That sentiment is prevalent again this year as widespread inflation resets workers’ expectations. In 2023, the average pay increase was 4%, according to our survey. In 2024, workers anticipate pay increases of more than 5% on average. But if 2023 is any measure, people are likely to be disappointed. Survey respondents in every country overestimated their pay gains that year. And even though most workers expect pay growth to accelerate, a sizeable 19% expect their remuneration to remain unchanged. That’s up from 16% a year ago.
The global labour market has improved a great deal over the last four years, with the unemployment rate for the world’s largest economies now below pre-pandemic levels. Our survey reflects this new stability, with a greater proportion of workers feeling secure in their jobs. A strong sense of job security is evident in every region we surveyed. Despite this improvement, workers are uneasy about other changes, including artificial intelligence and remote work. People who say that AI has the power to make their work easier are less likely to feel insecure about losing their jobs. Workers who are unsure or concerned about the impact of AI report higher levels of job insecurity. And the remote work arrangements that many employees and employers have embraced have come with a downside. Remote workers are more likely to feel like their organisations are monitoring them.
National conversations about environmental, social and governance initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion vary a great deal around the world and are heavily influenced by cultural, regulatory and political norms and practices. As the ESG and DEI landscapes continue to shift, worker sentiment reveals both common ground and points of divergence. Nearly half of workers say their employers offer diversity training, followed by awareness events (36%) and targeted recruiting (34%). Workers also tell us that diversity training is the most effective of the programs their employers offer, far outpacing more controversial practices such as hiring quotas. Moreover, enthusiasm about DEI practices diverges along generational lines. Workers aged 55 and older are nearly five times more likely than 18- to 24-year-olds to doubt the effectiveness of any DEI initiative. Turning to ESG practices, workers seem satisfied that companies are meeting the goals those workers deem important, especially when it comes to minimising the impact of carbon emissions, increasing data privacy and fostering a safe, healthy, fair and productive workplace.
Less than half of workers feel their employer invests in the skills they need to advance their careers. And almost half say the skillsets of the future will require technological knowledge that isn’t needed in their jobs today. Forty-two percent of workers globally think AI will replace some or all of their job functions. Taken together, these results point to a skills confidence gap. Workers don’t trust that their employers are investing in their careers.
Last year, our survey highlighted the toll that stress in the workplace was taking on the global workforce. This year, half of workers report feeling stress on the job, but the share who say they feel stress every day has fallen to below pre-pandemic levels. Still, given the importance of mental health on productivity and performance, employers need to keep their eye on the ball when it comes to workplace stress. Only 21% of people surveyed feel their employer fully supports their mental wellbeing. Employees in our global sample who feel supported by managers and colleagues are less likely to fall into the high-stress category.
Workers in Australia are less likely to value job security (42%) than their counterparts across the Asia Pacific region (51%), but they are much more likely to value flexibility of hours. Seventy-six percent are satisfied with the job security afforded by their employer, a much smaller share than globally (81%) and across Asia Pacific (83%). And employers in Australia could do more to provide their staff with financial wellbeing advice – only 43% of respondents say they receive this information, significantly trailing the region (67%) and workers globally (61%). Workers also are much less likely to be recognised for their contributions.
Workers in China prize job security highly, and 84% of employees say they’re satisfied with their level of job security. That’s one of the largest groups of any country. They’re less likely than workers in any other country to feel underpaid for the work they do, and only 13%—the smallest share in Asia Pacific—are actively trying to change jobs. Half say they have never been underpaid, a large share when compared to the region and workers globally (both 38%). While a small share of people in China (8%) experience stress at work every day, women are much more likely (42%) than men (27%) to report that they suffer from job-related mental health issues.
Workers in India report the greatest workplace flexibility, but 76% say they suffer from on-the-job stress, the largest share of any country in our survey. More than 48% think their work is suffering due to poor mental health, the largest share of any country. More than 40% say they have two or more sources of income, also a record large share. It might be no surprise, then, that workers in India are more likely to say they’re trying to change jobs. Yet these same workers also report the highest levels of satisfaction in their current employment - 81% - the largest share of any country.
Of all countries surveyed, Japan has the smallest share of satisfied workers (46%). In fact, among all workers in Asia Pacific countries, those in Japan are more likely to say they’re unhappy with their career progression, gender pay equity, environmental stewardship and employer attention to their contributions and financial and mental wellbeing. Japan also has the largest gender gap when it comes to satisfaction with pay, on-the-job recognition, mental wellbeing, and feeling safe at work, with women far more likely to report feeling satisfied in these areas than men. Still, more than half of workers in Japan say they haven’t considered a career change in the past year, the largest share by far of any country.
Workers value salary in Singapore (71%) more than anywhere else we surveyed. But less than half of workers are satisfied with what they earn, a small share when compared to the region (67%) and globally (65%). Nearly 81% of workers in Singapore have only one source of income, the largest share of any Asia Pacific country, and a relatively large share (27%) say they feel insecure in their jobs. Workers in Singapore are much less likely than their regional and global counterparts to report that their employers have become better at gender pay equality, environmental stewardship and diversity. Interestingly, although Australians say they’re most prone to stress, experiencing it on average 12 times per week, they’re least disposed to say that it adversely affects their work (57% say so). Whereas, in the next most stressed Asia Pacific nation – India – where workers experience stress 11 times per week, 76% say it affects their work. While 24% of Australians and 21% of Singaporeans say their employer doesn’t participate in DEI initiatives, this falls to just 11% in China and 6% in India.
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insight
If pay rises are proving a stretch this year, what alternatives would workers around the world accept? Find out in our global guide.
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One of the largest international studies of its kind, canvassing the views of over 34,000 workers in 18 countries, our research provides HR leaders with unique insights into the employee experience — people’s attitudes, aspirations, wants and needs.
People at Work 2023
People at Work 2022
People at Work 2021
