Fewer employees say they are thriving: Gallup

Fewer employees say they're thriving, according to Gallup's most recent Life Evaluation Index.

Fifty percent of employees say they are thriving, while 45 percent say they are struggling. An additional 4 percent say they are suffering. After a steady decline since 2020, this 2024 number marks a record low thriving rate since Gallup created the index in 2009.

The Gallup Life Evaluation Index measures how people rate their current and expected future lives. Respondents who respond "thriving" have positive views of their current and immediate futures. They report significantly fewer health problems, fewer negative emotions like worry and stress, and more positive emotions like happiness and energy.

Similarly, 51 percent of respondents said they experience stress "a lot" during the day, up from 49 percent in 2023. Eighteen percent of respondents said the same about anger.

Gallup also found that workers who are not thriving in their life experience higher amounts of worry, anger and employee burnout. Twenty-eight percent of U.S. employees already said they "very often or always" feel burned out at work.

Engaged employees who are not “thriving” are 61 percent more likely to experience burnout often or always and have double the rates of sadness and anger. Meanwhile, thriving employees miss 53 percent fewer days due to health issues. An August Gallup poll also revealed that only 37 percent of employees feel respected at work, down from 39 percent in May.

The Gallup poll, conducted Aug. 11-25, included 10,570 full-time workers and had a margin of error of 1.2 percentage points.