For the first time since Gallup began tracking workforce wellbeing, more American workers reported struggling than thriving, according to the firm’s Life Evaluation Index released in early 2026. The survey of U.S. workers conducted in the fourth quarter of 2025 showed 49% described themselves as struggling, up from 46% a year earlier, while those thriving declined to 46% from 50%.
Declining Worker Wellbeing Since 2022
Gallup’s Life Evaluation Index measures respondents’ current and expected future lives on a 10-point scale, classifying them as “thriving,” “struggling,” or “suffering.” The thriving rate among workers had remained relatively stable from 2009 through 2019, typically between 57% and 60%, before beginning a gradual decline after 2021. The peak thriving rate recently occurred in the third quarter of 2022 at 55%, when the struggling share was 41%, reflecting a 14-point positive gap.
Since early 2024, there has been no sustained increase in the thriving rate. The trend indicates a gradual but consistent deterioration in worker wellbeing nationwide.
Impact on Employers and Federal Workers’ Steeper Decline
Gallup highlighted the implications for employers, noting that workers who are not thriving are more prone to absenteeism and job searching. Thriving employees miss 53% fewer workdays due to health problems and are 32% less likely to be actively seeking a new job. As the thriving rate falls, organizations face increased risks to performance and retention.
The report also revealed federal workers experienced a sharper decline in wellbeing. In 2022, 60% of federal employees reported thriving, surpassing the national average. By late 2025, that figure had dropped 12 points to 48%, exceeding the declines seen among state and local government workers and the general workforce.
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