WHAT THE DATA SAY: 3 of 4 employees are burned out by constant change, unnecessary work and turnover

By: Ray Day

CONTACT:

Ray Day
ray.day@stagwellglobal.com 

We wanted to share our latest consumer and business insights, based on research from Stagwell. Among the highlights of our weekly consumer sentiment tracking:

BURNED OUT AND CHECKED OUT

Employees and managers are burned out and checked out by the constant pace of change and new workplace demands, according to our Harris Poll research with The Grossman Group.

• 76% of employees and 63% of managers report feeling burned out or ambivalent in their current position.
• Yet managers aren’t recognizing just how overwhelmed employees feel: 89% of managers believe employees are thriving compared with the actual thriving figure of 24%.
• 58% of burned-out employees and managers strongly agree that they are mentally exhausted.
• 54% strongly agree that they feel overwhelmed in their current role.
• Top drivers of burnout with employees are constant change, unnecessary work and turnover.
• Top drivers for thriving employees include: manager invested in their success (61%); empathetic manager (57%); and approachable senior leadership (53%).

AMERICANS SAY PERSONAL FINANCES REMAIN TOUGH

While the news reports say the economy is improving, Americans are not feeling it in their own finances, according to our Harris Poll survey with the National Foundation For Credit Counseling.

• 32% say they are “just getting by financially.”
• 31% don’t pay all their bills on time – up from 27% last year.
• 61% feel most improvements in the U.S. economy do not benefit people like them.
• 39% of Americans are concerned that their money won’t last.
• 24% feel they will never have the things they want because of their financial situation.
• Also, fewer Americans today give themselves an A or B when considering their personal finance knowledge (53% today versus 57% a year ago).

UPSKILLING VERSUS A COLLEGE DEGREE

Upskilling could upend the college degree in the next 10 years, based on The Harris Poll’s new “Human Progress” global report with ETS.

• 88% feel the lifetime value of college is eroding as continuous learning becomes essential to success.
• 78% believe that evidence of ongoing skill acquisition will be as valuable as a university degree by 2035.
• Across the globe, however, cost is the number one barrier to upskilling and lifelong learning – especially for women, older generations, the unemployed and those in rural areas.
• 72% globally would trust AI-generated guidance for improving skills.
• Yet 71% also worry that AI has the potential to negatively affect learning assessments due to biases and programming flaws.

DECLINE OF THE SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCER

More than 8 in 10 Americans say fake product reviews and paid influencer posts make it challenging to find honest recommendations, according to new Harris Poll research with ExpertVoice.

• When shopping online, 44% of consumers feel overwhelmed by the abundance of choices, and 57% feel compelled to continually cross-compare options.
• 77% distrust social media influencers.
• 81% are skeptical that social media influencers have expertise in the products or services they are trying to sell.
• 83% prioritize recommendations from knowledgeable individuals over social media influencers.
• 55% seek transparency and desire more verified expert reviews.
• 49% want to see non-paid reviews.
• 2 in 3 consumers make purchases without consulting reviews.
• Those who do rely on reviews spend an average of 19 minutes reading at least 11 reviews before finalizing a decision.

ALL THE NEWS THAT FITS ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Young people are using social media more than ever for their news and information – and they do not consume news through traditional channels, according to our Harris Poll survey with Axios.

• Three fourths of Gen Z, Millennials and Gen X use social media to find news, compared with 44% of Boomers.
• The most popular platforms for news gathering among Gen Z include Instagram (71%), YouTube (69%), TikTok (65%) and Facebook (51%).
• 44% of Gen Z report consuming news on X and 22% on LinkedIn.
• At the same time, 65% of Gen Z members are reducing their news consumption to protect their mental health and wellness.

ICYMI

In case you missed it, check out some of the thought-leadership and happenings around Stagwell making news:

• How Stagwell’s politics-focused agencies are advising brands in 2024
• Building trust, credibility, and relationships through brand content
• Employees Embrace AI in the Workplace, Want More Training, Guidance From Employers
• Two-Thirds of U.S. Adults Would Rather Wait to Watch Movies on Streaming
• Companies that fail to take advantage of expanding work spans are leaving value and money on the table