Only half of employees feel hopeful about the future of work, survey shows

Only half of employees feel hopeful about the future of work, survey shows

Summary

A new O.C. Tanner Institute report finds that roughly 52% of employees feel hopeful about the future of work, while more than a third report feeling depressed. The study links hope to better outcomes: hopeful employees are about five times more likely to innovate, eight times more likely to produce great work and seven times more likely to be engaged.

The report highlights workplace factors tied to hopelessness: lack of inclusion dramatically raises anxiety (218% higher) and burnout (513% higher). Transparency from an employee’s immediate manager is far more influential than messages from senior leaders or HR (about seven times more powerful). Although strong support reduces probable depression, anxiety and burnout, only around one in three employees say they receive sufficient support.

Source

Source: https://www.hrdive.com/news/only-half-of-employees-feel-hopeful-about-future-of-work/759741/

Key Points

• About 52% of employees feel hopeful about the future of work; over a third feel depressed.
• Hope correlates strongly with performance: higher rates of innovation, engagement and high-quality work.
• Teams that aren’t inclusive significantly increase the odds of employee anxiety (+218%) and burnout (+513%).
• Manager-level transparency about work and performance is roughly seven times more impactful than communication from senior leaders or HR.
• Only about one third of employees report receiving the level of support their workplace expects.
• External studies cited: Gallup on trust and hope from leaders; University of Phoenix Career Institute finding ~1 in 5 workers feel their career is out of their control.

Context and relevance

This report matters for HR leaders, line managers and people who care about retention, productivity and wellbeing. It reinforces a growing trend: psychological factors (hope, inclusion, manager support) drive measurable business outcomes. With economic uncertainty and fast-moving workplace change, the findings underscore that investment in inclusive teams and manager development is not just ethical — it’s strategic.

For practitioners, the takeaway is practical: boost frontline manager transparency, prioritise support programmes and tackle exclusionary behaviours to reduce anxiety and burnout and lift engagement and innovation.

Author style

Punchy: the research ties employee hope directly to performance metrics and flags managers as the most influential source of clarity and support. If you care about engagement, retention or innovation, this is worth a closer look.

Why should I read this?

Quick and useful — this story tells you where to focus: managers, inclusion and real support. Read it if you want the short version of what’s dragging morale down and what actually moves the needle on engagement and performance.