A strategic focus on building a healthy workforce is the key to unlocking the full collective potential of an organization. Prioritizing the physical, mental, and emotional well-being of employees is a critical step in sustaining a high-performing workforce. Using our research-backed People Insights Model, we measure three essential aspects of workplace well-being: safety, work-life balance, and workload.
In general, the latest findings from our Center for Workforce Transformation reveal that employees feel most positive about their safety perceptions, followed by work-life balance, with workload having the lowest favorability ratings. More specifically, our 2025 Benchmark Database reveals that, on average:
On the surface, those results seem positive, but when we turn to unfavorable perceptions, it's apparent that there is room for improvement. While safety looks promising with only 5% reporting unfavorably, 1 in 10 report unfavorable work-life balance perceptions, with that figure rising to approximately 12% when asked about workload.
Looking at specific items, we find that over 1 in 10 (13%) do not agree that their company supports work-life balance, 12% do not feel they are able to balance their work and personal lives, and 15% disagree that their workloads and stress levels at work are feasible. Additionally, most of these unfavorable perceptions have shown an inclining trend since 2022, with a subtle yet steady rise in disagreement each year. Even when examining favorability, both having workloads and stress levels that are feasible drop below 70% endorsement — a concerning threshold for employee engagement and retention.
All employees are not created equal. There are many organizational and employee-related factors that can contribute to differences in the overall employee experience and well-being perceptions. When we zoom in on these factors, distinct patterns emerge.
Looking at individual contributors (ICs), managers, and executives for 2025, the main trend shows that executives tend to have the most favorable perceptions of the group, though all are either above or at the overall average. Across our three workplace well-being themes, executives (87%) are five percentage points higher than managers (82%) and seven percentage points higher than individual contributors (80%).
From this data, we can see that managers' perceptions are more similar to individual contributors than to executives. Items where we see the biggest discrepancies across levels include:
Notably, manager stress and workload perceptions fall below average (at 64%), with individual contributors also falling below this threshold regarding having manageable work stress levels (68%).
When averaging within age groups across these three well-being themes, we see that older (65+) and younger employees (18-24) have the highest scores on well-being, at 83% and 81% on average, respectively. The largest discrepancy is between those 65+ and those who fall between 25-44 years of age, who report an average favorability of 77% — a six-percentage point difference from those in the 65+ group (83%).
When we examine the item level more closely, we notice some similarly sized distinctions. Reports of having favorable stress levels and workloads are eight percentage points higher for older employees than for those 25-44 (75% vs. 67%), and the gap remains substantial when comparing these older employees to those in the 45 to 64 range, where the difference is six percentage points (75% vs. 69%).
Looking at generation (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, and Gen Z), we see similar patterns as with age. Overall, Baby Boomers report the highest favorability on our well-being theme (81%), followed by Gen X (80%), Gen Z (80%), and then Millennials (78%).
The biggest gaps are within our work-life balance and workload themes and are between Baby Boomers and Millennials. While both groups are still above or at average, on the work-life balance theme, Baby Boomers are four percentage points higher than Millennials (79% vs. 75%), with that gap increasing to five percentage points for workload perceptions (75% vs. 70%).
Overall, males and females show very similar well-being standings, with approximately 80% favorable for both groups when averaging the three well-being themes. The biggest gap is found on the workload theme, with females sitting about two percentage points away from males on both favorable and unfavorable perceptions (71% vs. 73% favorable; 13% vs. 11% unfavorable).
When we examine the top engagement drivers, the picture becomes less stable: females respond less favorably to all drivers. These include:
For labor types, we examined the differences between salaried and hourly employees. In aggregate, salaried workers are four percentage points higher on favorability perceptions across the three well-being themes (82% vs. 78%).
Within themes, the biggest discrepancy is on safety perceptions — though still around the overall average for both groups — with salaried workers reporting seven percentage points higher than hourly workers (91% vs. 84%). Work-life balance shows the same pattern, with salaried workers four percentage points higher (79% vs. 75%). Interestingly, for workload, salaried workers come in one percentage point lower on favorability (72% vs. 73%).
These two groups seem to share a collective pain point, with both groups falling below the average of 70% favorability when asked about their work stress levels. This remains below 70% for salaried workers regarding having a manageable workload, as well as for hourly workers regarding whether their organization cares about their wellness.
With a constantly changing environment, it's hard not to become overwhelmed. Factors such as layoff anxiety, return-to-office mandates, burnout, and loneliness impact employees on a regular basis. In reality, health and well-being stands out as an area where work and personal lives are particularly intertwined.
Enabling your employees to bring their best selves to work means creating a culture where they feel supported, cared for, and respected. As showcased above, well-being perceptions vary at different stages and periods of the employee lifecycle — but this doesn't have to be the case.
Since there is no one-size-fits-all approach, it's vital to embed continuous listening into your organization's core, identify areas for improvement, and most importantly, act on what you see. Organizations that prioritize holistic well-being strategies — addressing not just workplace stress but broader life concerns — see significant improvements in engagement and retention.
Key strategies for improving workplace well-being include:
With this approach, your organization will be closer to success — with all employees more likely to feel equipped and energized to do their best work. By measuring well-being as a key engagement metric and taking action on the insights gained, organizations can build a workforce that thrives not just survives.
The insights from our research are clear: when organizations understand and address the diverse well-being needs of their workforce, they unlock higher engagement, stronger retention, and better business outcomes. To learn more, download our complete Employee Health & Well-Being guidebook from the Center for Workforce Transformation for all the detailed strategies, benchmarks, templates, and action plans you need to build a comprehensive well-being strategy.
Once you’re ready to undertake that EX transformation, schedule a demo of our People Insights Platform to discover how Perceptyx helps you create a workplace where every employee can thrive.
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