American workers are 'unhappier at work' than they have been in years as inflation, remote work take its toll

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American workers are reporting that they are the most unhappy they have been in years, despite "wage increases, more paid time off and greater control over where they work," per The Wall Street Journal. 

The Journal referenced a Gallup workplace report from 2023 that found "the number of U.S. workers who say they are angry, stressed and disengaged is climbing." 

Another BambooHR study found similarly that data from "more than 57,000 workers shows job-satisfaction scores have fallen to their lowest point since early 2020, after a 10% drop this year alone."

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American workers are reporting that they are the most unhappy they have been in years, despite "wage increases, more paid time off and greater control over where they work," per The Wall Street Journal.  (iStock)

Inflation, which has eaten away at nominal wage gains, work-life balance and remote work have all taken a toll on employees. "People chafe against being micromanaged back to offices, yet they also find isolating aspects of hybrid and remote work. A cooling job market—especially in white-collar roles—is leaving many professionals feeling stuck."

"You try to keep work and home separate, but that sort of stuff is just impacting your mental health so much," Lindsey Leesmann said after she left a job that required her to be in the office two days a week.

Some companies have tried to solve work dissatisfaction among employees by "spending on employee benefits such as mental health, child care and well-being bonuses by 20% over the pandemic years."

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Some companies have tried to solve work dissatisfaction among employees by "spending on employee benefits such as mental health, child care and well-being bonuses by 20% over the pandemic years." (iStock)

"All that extra spend has not translated into happier employees," Stephan Scholl, chief executive of Alight Solutions, told The Journal. 

"In an Alight survey of 2,000 U.S. employees this year, 34% said they often dread starting their workday—an 11-percentage-point rise since 2020. Corporate clients have told him mental-health claims and costs from employee turnover are rising."

"Long-distance relationships between bosses and staff might also be an issue," The Journal wrote, with some workers feeling isolated. 

"One Los Angeles-based consultant in his 20s, who asked to remain anonymous because he is seeking another job," per WSJ, "said that when he started his job at a large company last year, his largely remote colleagues were focused on their own work, unwilling to show a new hire the ropes or invite him for coffee." 

One issue was a lack of basic human interaction: "Many leave cameras off for video calls and few people show up at the office, making it hard to build relationships."

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"There’s zero humanity," the consultant told The Wall Street Journal, "noting that he is seeking another job with a strong office culture."