Percentage of 'thriving' employees shrinks: Gallup

The share of employees in U.S. and Canada who say they are personally “thriving” in their lives saw a marked decline in 2024, according to a Gallup report published Wednesday.

The “State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report,” which includes data for 2024, shows 52 percent of employees from the U.S. and Canada region say they are “thriving” in their lives, down from 56 percent in 2023.

The 4-point drop represents the largest decline since at least 2011, when Gallup first included data on “thriving” employees from the region.

From 2011 to 2019, the share of “thriving” employees in the region hovered between 59 percent and 62 percent, never changing more than 1 percentage point in a given year.

In 2020, the share of “thriving” employees dropped 3 points to 58 percent. In 2021, it stayed at 58 percent; in 2022, it dipped to 57 percent; in 2023, to 56 percent; and in 2024, to 52 percent.

The report indicated that, among U.S. and Canadian employees, 44 percent are “struggling” in their lives — a 3-point increase from the previous year — and 4 percent are “suffering,” a 1-point increase from the previous year.

The report includes data from around the world, as well as from distinct regions.

The “U.S. and Canada” region placed third among the regions with the highest percentage of “thriving” employees, even as the region saw a dip from previous years.

In first place, Australia and New Zealand saw 56 percent of its employees “thriving,” despite seeing a 4-point dip from 2023. In second place, Latin America and the Caribbean saw 54 percent of its employees “thriving,” a 4-point increase from the previous year.

Globally, 33 percent of employees report “thriving” in their personal lives, 58 percent report “struggling” and 9 percent report “suffering.” The share of “thriving” employees globally had been steadily increasing from 2017 to 2022, but it dropped 1 point to 34 percent in 2023 and another point to 33 percent in 2024.

The survey asked respondents to evaluate their lives by imagining a ladder with “steps numbered from zero at the bottom to 10 at the top,” with 10 representing the “best possible life for you.” Gallup asked respondents to indicate which step of the ladder they feel they currently stand on and which step of the ladder they expect to be standing on in five years.

Those who rate their current life a 7 or higher, in addition to rating their future life an 8 or higher, get classified as “thriving.” Those who rate their current and future lives at a 4 or below are “suffering.” All others are “struggling.”

The total number of global employed respondents included in the 2024 data is 227,347.

The surveys were conducted from April 2024 to December 2024. For global results, the margin of error ranged from 0.05 percentage points to 0.08 percentage points. Per country, the margin of error ranged from 0.26 percentage points to 2.36 percentage points.