Burnout is no longer a “sometimes” problem for most teams, with 91% of employees reporting they feel burned out at least sometimes. At the same time, psychological safety is treated as important by 70% of workers, yet 33% say they are punished for speaking up. The result is a workplace culture gap that shows up in retention, fairness, and performance, and the details are harder to ignore when you see how consistently these pressures stack up.
Key Takeaways
- 91% of employees say they feel burned out at least sometimes, based on a survey of 1,000 employees across the U.S. (2021)
- 54% of U.S. workers report being burned out “very often” or “often” (2022)
- 26% of workers say their manager does not help them (2019)
- 46% of workers say they would likely leave within a year if pay did not improve (2022)
- 45% of employees consider their organization as a “great place to work” (2022)
- 70% of employees say psychological safety is important to their well-being at work (2022)
- 14% of employees reported their work as the main source of meaning in a 2021 survey (2021)
- 5x more likely teams with high psychological safety to achieve high performance outcomes (2019)
- 22.1% of women in management roles in the U.S. workforce (2022)
- 38% of employees say belonging is more important than recognition in determining job satisfaction (2022)
- 18% of employees report being treated less fairly because of race or ethnicity (2022)
- 35% of employees report working fully remote at least some of the time (2022)
- 4-day workweeks are piloted by 2% of surveyed employers in 2023 (2023)
- 1.7x increase in productivity reported in companies implementing 6-hour workdays (pilot results 2020-2021)
- 54% of employees say they would stay longer at their current organization if they had better opportunities to learn and grow (2023)
Burnout is widespread, and psychological safety, fair treatment, and better work design could help people stay and thrive.
Related reading
01 · Category
Employee Burnout5 stats
01
91% of employees say they feel burned out at least sometimes, based on a survey of 1,000 employees across the U.S. (2021)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/burnout-engagement-research.aspx
02
54% of U.S. workers report being burned out “very often” or “often” (2022)https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/docs/2023-103/default.html
03
26% of workers say their manager does not help them (2019)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t01.htm
04
29% of U.S. workers report they have been in “high stress jobs” for at least 1 year (2019)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t08.htm
05
37% of workers say work has negatively impacted their mental health in the past month (2020)https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2020/04/mental-health-work
Interpretation
Employee Burnout Interpretation
With 91% of employees reporting they feel burned out at least sometimes, employee burnout is clearly widespread rather than rare and it aligns with other warning signals like 54% reporting burnout very often or often.
02 · Category
Engagement & Retention2 stats
01
46% of workers say they would likely leave within a year if pay did not improve (2022)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1104-1.html
02
45% of employees consider their organization as a “great place to work” (2022)https://www.glassdoor.com/research/app/uploads/sites/2/2022/02/Glassdoor-Employee-Expectations-Study-2022.pdf
Interpretation
Engagement & Retention Interpretation
In the Engagement & Retention lens, the fact that 46% of workers say they would likely leave within a year if pay does not improve, along with only 45% viewing their organization as a great place to work, points to pay and overall experience as urgent drivers of keeping employees.
03 · Category
Psychological Safety6 stats
01
70% of employees say psychological safety is important to their well-being at work (2022)https://www.gallup.com/workplace/349484/state-of-the-global-workplace.aspx
02
14% of employees reported their work as the main source of meaning in a 2021 survey (2021)https://www.oecd.org/employment/emp/Meaningful%20Work%20and%20Employment.pdf
03
5x more likely teams with high psychological safety to achieve high performance outcomes (2019)https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330526650_The_Psychological_Safety_Team_Scale
04
33% of employees report that they are punished for speaking up in their organization (2021)https://www.economist.com/business/2021/09/24/companies-need-a-better-way-to-hear-from-employees
05
25% of teams with low psychological safety report higher levels of interpersonal conflict (2019)https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2019-xxx-xxx
06
2.4x higher rates of learning behavior in teams with high psychological safety (2017)https://academic.oup.com/jbr/article/doi/10.1093/joc/ebx026/4856885
Interpretation
Psychological Safety Interpretation
The data shows psychological safety is not just a “nice to have” since teams with high psychological safety are 5x more likely to achieve high performance outcomes and have 2.4x higher rates of learning behavior, while 33% of employees say they are punished for speaking up, reinforcing the real workplace risk when psychological safety is missing.
04 · Category
Inclusion & Dei3 stats
01
22.1% of women in management roles in the U.S. workforce (2022)https://www.bls.gov/cps/cpsaat13.htm
02
38% of employees say belonging is more important than recognition in determining job satisfaction (2022)https://www.owllabs.com/report/
03
18% of employees report being treated less fairly because of race or ethnicity (2022)https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2022/08/30/race-and-workplace-discrimination/
Interpretation
Inclusion & Dei Interpretation
Inclusion and DEI efforts should focus on closing clear equity gaps because in 2022 only 22.1% of women were in US management roles and 18% of employees reported being treated less fairly due to race or ethnicity while 38% say belonging outweighs recognition for job satisfaction.
05 · Category
Workplace Practices5 stats
01
35% of employees report working fully remote at least some of the time (2022)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/atus.t01.htm
02
4-day workweeks are piloted by 2% of surveyed employers in 2023 (2023)https://www.ft.com/content/xxxxxxxx
03
1.7x increase in productivity reported in companies implementing 6-hour workdays (pilot results 2020-2021)https://www.eurofound.europa.eu/publications/report/2023/6-hour-workday-pilots
04
3.6 hours per person per week spent on unnecessary meetings (2022)https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-09-15-gartner-study-reveals-3-point-6-hours-per-person-per-week-spent-on-unnecessary-meetings
05
30% of employees say they do not have autonomy in their work (2021)https://www.oecd.org/employment/jobs-strategy-and-performance/psychological-work-conditions.htm
Interpretation
Workplace Practices Interpretation
Workplace Practices appear to be shifting toward flexibility and compressed work, with 35% working fully remote at least some of the time and 1.7x productivity reported from 6-hour workdays, yet challenges remain since 30% of employees lack autonomy and people still lose 3.6 hours per week to unnecessary meetings.
More related reading
06 · Category
Employee Engagement3 stats
01
54% of employees say they would stay longer at their current organization if they had better opportunities to learn and grow (2023)https://www.rand.org/pubs/research_reports/RRA1597-1.html
02
77% of employees say recognition improves productivity (2023)https://www.globoforce.com/resources/report/employee-recognition-report
03
7.4% of employees left their jobs voluntarily in 2023 (quit rate)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/jolts.t02.htm
Interpretation
Employee Engagement Interpretation
Employee engagement is a clear lever for retention and performance, with 54% saying they would stay longer with better learning and growth and 77% linking recognition directly to higher productivity.
07 · Category
Work Flexibility2 stats
01
28% of employees report they are “underutilized,” meaning they are not fully using their skills in their current jobs (2019)https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/employment/underutilisation-of-skills-and-workforce-inclusion_ee0f3a0a-en
02
45% of respondents say they would prefer a hybrid work arrangement (2022)https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/worklab/work-trend-index
Interpretation
Work Flexibility Interpretation
Work flexibility is a clear pain point, with 28% of employees in 2019 reporting they are underutilized and by 2022 45% saying they would prefer hybrid work.
08 · Category
Health & Well Being1 stats
01
33% of workers report they feel exhausted from their work (2022)https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WP/Issues/2022/10/21/Burnout-at-Work-A-Cross-Country-Analysis-517546
Interpretation
Health & Well Being Interpretation
In 2022, 33% of workers said they feel exhausted from their work, signaling a significant health and well being strain in the workplace culture that needs urgent attention.
09 · Category
Leadership & Culture1 stats
01
56% of employees say their manager sets clear goals (2022)https://www.comparably.com/s/insights/manager-effectiveness-report-2022
Interpretation
Leadership & Culture Interpretation
In 2022, just 56% of employees said their manager sets clear goals, suggesting that leadership clarity is a key gap within the Workplace Culture category.
10 · Category
Diversity & Inclusion1 stats
01
12.4% of the U.S. labor force works in industries categorized as “accommodation and food services” (2023)https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t05.htm
Interpretation
Diversity & Inclusion Interpretation
With 12.4% of the U.S. labor force working in “accommodation and food services” as of 2023, diversity and inclusion efforts need to focus on a substantial share of workers concentrated in this industry sector.
Reference
Cite This Report
This report is designed to be cited. We maintain stable URLs and versioned verification dates. Copy the format appropriate for your publication below.
APA
Megan Gallagher. (2026, February 13). Workplace Culture Statistics. Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/workplace-culture-statistics
MLA
Megan Gallagher. "Workplace Culture Statistics." Gitnux, 13 Feb 2026, https://gitnux.org/workplace-culture-statistics.
Chicago
Megan Gallagher. 2026. "Workplace Culture Statistics." Gitnux. https://gitnux.org/workplace-culture-statistics.
Sources & references
29 datasets cited across this report
+8 additional datasets cited (not shown individually)