Annual Workplace Wellbeing Report 2026 finds majority of US workers still languishing

Improved work design, greater autonomy, and supportive team conditions are major factors in driving employee well-being outcomes

By John Moist

2026 Workplace Wellbeing Study

More than half of US employees are languishing at work, while fewer than half are flourishing, according to a new national study from the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at the University of Illinois’ Gies College of Business. The Workplace Well-Being Report 2026: Confirming the Crisis and Identifying What Helps replicates the Center’s 2025 findings and adds new insights into how flourishing employees cope with workplace stressors and how work and ethical environments impact employee well-being.

The study, led by Professor Oscar Ybarra, surveyed a nationally representative sample of 2,000 workers in the US. Results show that 61 percent of workers are languishing, or struggling with engagement, motivation, or fulfillment in their roles. 39 percent of workers, meanwhile, are flourishing at work. This closely mirrors the survey’s previous findings, reinforcing that workplace well-being continues to be a systemic challenge.

“We’re confirming what many of us feel intuitively – that workplace wellbeing remains in crisis,” said Ybarra, professor of business administration and director of the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society (CPRBS). “But what’s powerful about this research is that it moves beyond documenting the problem to identifying specific levers organizations can pull to help their people thrive.”

The annual CPRBS report series emphasizes that workplace mental health is more than the presence or absence of mental illness. Employees can function well in their personal lives while struggling at work or vice versa, making workplace-specific measurement tools essential for leaders who want actionable insights into the work environments in their organizations.

When compared with flourishing employees, those who are languishing reported higher burnout and distress. 38 percent of languishing employees said they feel burned out “very frequently” (as opposed to 29 percent of flourishers), and 34 percent of languishers indicated that they intend to look for new work in the next 12 months.

“Languishing isn’t just an abstract concern,” said Ybarra. “It manifests as real distress in people’s daily work lives. When nearly half of languishing employees report frequent burnout and consider leaving their jobs, organizations face both a human cost and a retention crisis. This should be a wake-up call for leaders.”

Languishing appears across age groups, education, income, gender, racial/ethnic groups, and regions of the US. There is no “at-risk demographic” when it comes to our experiences at work. Instead, the strongest signals come from the conditions of that work itself, especially autonomy, support, and ethical climate.

Autonomy, Work Design, and Conditions Impact Well-Being

If languishing is widespread, what separates the workplaces where employees tend to thrive? The findings point to “work squad” dynamics –the day-to-day environment created by autonomy (having real say in decisions and how things get done) and support (feeling backed up by coworkers, supervisors, and the organization itself).

Improving work design and team conditions can matter far more than demographic differences when it comes to explaining employee wellbeing. The framework of “autonomy + support” aligns with related research from Ybarra and coauthor Todd Chan (University of Michigan), which shows people have the best outcomes when they feel they have both agency and strong, supportive social connections.

A clear difference emerges: in “empowered squads”, or teams in which workers have high autonomy and high support, 68 percent of workers flourish. In neglected environments (with low autonomy and low support), only 10 percent flourish.

“It’s not enough to be nice to people or give them freedom independently,” said Ybarra. “Employees need both the autonomy to make meaningful decisions and the support to know their organization has their back. When you combine those elements, you see a significant increase in flourishing compared to environments where both are absent.”

Beyond team structure, an organization’s ethical climate also predicts wellbeing. The report found that flourishing is significantly more likely when employees operate under clear ethical expectations and consistent accountability.

The gap in ethical perception between thriving and struggling is telling: 64 percent of flourishing workers strongly agree that employees are expected to be ethical in decisions and actions, while only 44 percent of languishers agreed.

This suggests that an ethical climate does more than prevent or discourage harmful behavior; it creates a sense of psychological safety and reliability. When ethics are clear, employees don’t have to waste emotional energy or attention navigating “grey areas” or worrying about unfair treatment. They’re free to focus on their work knowing that their integrity is valued and that the organization’s stated values match its actions. A strong ethical climate is a prerequisite for a flourishing workplace.

The Habits That Separate Flourishers from Languishers

Ybarra and his team studied an action-oriented question: when workplace stress strikes, how do flourishing employees act differently from languishers?

The researchers assessed 17 emotional regulation strategies and found three clusters, known as the 3Rs, that consistently separate flourishers from languishers.

In times of stress, flourishers:

1. Reframe (Cognitive Reappraisal): Flourishers are far more likely to look for a “silver lining” in difficult situations (55 percent vs. 38 percent of languishers) and seek out a change in perspective.

2. Reach Out (Social Connection): Flourishers are more likely to interact with others when work is stressful (68 percent vs. 50 percent) and seek comfort and perspective from people they trust.

3. Reset (Active Breaks and Movement): Flourishers are more likely to take breaks for rest and restoration such as going outside to reset (43 percent vs. 34 percent) or use physical activity to manage stress (40 percent vs. 29 percent).

The report’s findings emphasize that these are learnable behaviors (not fixed and permanent traits), creating a pathway forward for both employees and organizations.

“What’s exciting about the 3 Rs is that they represent concrete, teachable skills,” said Ybarra. “Flourishing employees aren’t just lucky or naturally resilient; they deploy various strategies in responding to stress. That means other employees can learn these same strategies, especially when their work environment makes it safe and realistic to do so.”

What Leaders Can Do to Build Flourishing Workplaces

The new findings from CPRBS’ Workplace Wellbeing Report suggest a two-pronged approach to improving our workplace wellbeing: building skills and building conditions. While employees can practice techniques like reframing or resetting, those behaviors aren’t happening in a vacuum. Instead, organizational structures like empowered squads build the foundation of autonomy and psychological safety that help employees thrive. A different study by Ybarra and Chan shows that when agency and social connection improve over time in organizations, outcomes improve as well. Empowering conditions can have a big impact.

For leaders and managers interested in supporting their employees who might not be flourishing, the survey’s findings suggest a small set of high-impact levers:

1. Design for Flourishing: Empower teams (squads) to increase autonomy while strengthening support structures.

2. Strengthen the Ethical Climate: Clarify expectations and demonstrate values to keep accountability consistent.

3. Make Healthy Coping Realistic: Protect time for deep focus, normalize restorative breaks, and build the norms that make reaching out acceptable and encouraged.

“Designing for flourishing requires both individual skill-building and organizational redesign,” added Ybarra. “Employees can practice reframing and reaching out, but those behaviors become sustainable when organizations create empowered squads that make autonomy and support the norm rather than the exception. That’s where real transformation happens.”

The Workplace Wellbeing Report is an ongoing research program led by the Center for Professional Responsibility in Business and Society at Gies College of Business. The January 2026 report is coauthored by Oscar Ybarra (principal investigator), Corey Keyes (Professor Emeritus, Emory University, co-principal investigator), and Ethan Kross (Professor, University of Michigan, co-principal investigator).

More research from Gies Business:

-       Check out more work from Oscar Ybarra on Illinois Experts

-       Listen to Oscar Ybarra discuss workplace wellness and psychology in business on the Gies Download podcast

-       Read about how leaders can forge flourishing workplaces from experts at Gies Business