The average employee satisfaction score decreased by 16% since June 2020 and by 11% from June 2022 to June 2023, according to BambooHR’s most recent Employee Happiness Index. Employees are more unhappy now than they were during the COVID-19 pandemic. The consistent downward trend of employee dissatisfaction over the past three years indicates how deep-seated the trend has become. This steady decline in employee satisfaction has been dubbed the “Great Gloom.”
BambooHR’s Employee Happiness Index is based on an analysis of more than 57,000 unique employee Net Promoter Score responses from eight key industries in the company’s platform. Several factors contribute to employee satisfaction levels, including tenure and company size. Organizations with an average employee tenure of less than three years were generally happier than those with longer average tenures. Small- and medium-sized businesses with fewer employees tend to have happier employees than larger companies.
Consider these additional key takeaways:
- Construction is the happiest industry, in part due to job stability and increased wages.
- Employee happiness in the healthcare industry dropped 32% in the last three years, with half the drop coming in 2023.
- Travel and hospitality is the only industry with growing employee happiness.
- The technology, finance, restaurant, food and beverage industries all reached three-year employee satisfaction lows in June 2023.
Employer Takeaway
There’s a strong correlation between economic conditions and employee happiness and engagement. Income stability and job security are important factors that impact overall employee satisfaction. Employee unhappiness not only impacts individual employees, but it can also hamper businesses. Disengaged employees cost the global economy nearly $8.8 trillion, according to Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2023.
Prioritizing employee happiness and engagement is critical to an organization’s short- and long-term success. Organizations that tailor their HR strategies to address current issues, such as economic stability, will likely experience happier employees and improve their bottom line.
