People at Work: A Global Workforce View
For the past four years, ADP Research has surveyed workers around the globe to learn about their on-the-job experiences. This work has illuminated the world’s journey through a deep economic downturn, the subsequent cost-of-living crisis and monumental change tied to remote and hybrid work. As we’ve passed each of these milestones, People at Work has captured how the global labour force has adapted and changed. The world is shaking off its pandemic-driven upheaval, but change hasn’t slowed. As new opportunities and challenges reshape the labour market, workers in some ways have remained constant in their priorities—they still put great value on remuneration and job security, for example. But in other ways, they feel under threat from technology, stress and shifting workplace norms.
Using detailed survey responses from more than 34,000 workers in 18 countries, People at Work continues to capture this evolution. In 2024, we uncovered six key themes.
Themes from 2024’s global study
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1. What workers want: pay—and more
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2. What workers expect: pay increases
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3. The promise and peril of remote work
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4. ESG and DEI: a workforce divided
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5. Career development: room for improvement
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6. Stress, the constant companion
1. What workers want: pay—and more
Workers put salary at the top of their priority list for the fourth year running. More than 55% of respondents rank pay among their top three job priorities. At the same time, employees are more dissatisfied with their pay than with any other prioritised attribute. Strengthening economies have elevated expectations for pay increases. Workers are largely unified on the priority of pay, but we captured regional and generational differences when it comes to other job values. Half of workers in the Asia Pacific region list job security as a high priority, second only to pay in importance for this region. Workers in Europe, by contrast, prize the day-to-day enjoyment of work over job security. Young workers, moreover, are making their presence known as a distinct global voice. One in five prioritise training and experience, more than any other age group. And while they want flexibility to do their work where and when they choose, young adults prioritise workplace flexibility less than other job attributes, possibly because they’ve grown to accept it as a given.
2. What workers expect: pay increases
Our last survey captured high expectations for pay increases. That sentiment is prevalent again this year as widespread inflation resets workers’ expectations. In 2023, the average pay increase was 4%, according to our survey. In 2024, workers anticipate pay increases of more than 5% on average. But if 2023 is any measure, people are likely to be disappointed. Survey respondents in every country overestimated their pay gains that year. And even though most workers expect pay growth to accelerate, a sizeable 19% expect their remuneration to remain unchanged. That’s up from 16% a year ago.
3. The promise and peril of remote work
The global labour market has improved a great deal over the last four years, with the unemployment rate for the world’s largest economies now below pre-pandemic levels. Our survey reflects this new stability, with a greater proportion of workers feeling secure in their jobs. A strong sense of job security is evident in every region we surveyed. Despite this improvement, workers are uneasy about other changes, including artificial intelligence and remote work. People who say that AI has the power to make their work easier are less likely to feel insecure about losing their jobs. Workers who are unsure or concerned about the impact of AI report higher levels of job insecurity. And the remote work arrangements that many employees and employers have embraced have come with a downside. Remote workers are more likely to feel like their organisations are monitoring them.
4. ESG and DEI: a workforce divided
National conversations about environmental, social and governance initiatives and diversity, equity and inclusion vary a great deal around the world and are heavily influenced by cultural, regulatory and political norms and practices. As the ESG and DEI landscapes continue to shift, worker sentiment reveals both common ground and points of divergence. Nearly half of workers say their employers offer diversity training, followed by awareness events (36%) and targeted recruiting (34%). Workers also tell us that diversity training is the most effective of the programs their employers offer, far outpacing more controversial practices such as hiring quotas. Moreover, enthusiasm about DEI practices diverges along generational lines. Workers aged 55 and older are nearly five times more likely than 18- to 24-year-olds to doubt the effectiveness of any DEI initiative. Turning to ESG practices, workers seem satisfied that companies are meeting the goals those workers deem important, especially when it comes to minimising the impact of carbon emissions, increasing data privacy and fostering a safe, healthy, fair and productive workplace.
5. Career development: room for improvement
Less than half of workers feel their employer invests in the skills they need to advance their careers. And almost half say the skillsets of the future will require technological knowledge that isn’t needed in their jobs today. Forty-two percent of workers globally think AI will replace some or all of their job functions. Taken together, these results point to a skills confidence gap. Workers don’t trust that their employers are investing in their careers.
6. Stress, the constant companion
Last year, our survey highlighted the toll that stress in the workplace was taking on the global workforce. This year, half of workers report feeling stress on the job, but the share who say they feel stress every day has fallen to below pre-pandemic levels. Still, given the importance of mental health on productivity and performance, employers need to keep their eye on the ball when it comes to workplace stress. Only 21% of people surveyed feel their employer fully supports their mental wellbeing. Employees in our global sample who feel supported by managers and colleagues are less likely to fall into the high-stress category.
People at Work 2024: A Global Workforce View
Country highlights
France
Many respondents in France give their employers low marks on their climate efforts. They’re dissatisfied with progress on carbon emissions (18%, the biggest share globally), water pollution (18%, second only to Argentina), and energy efficiency (20%, the biggest share of any country). They also have personal concerns, with 43% saying their work is suffering due to poor mental health. That’s the biggest share in Europe and one of the biggest in the world (India is at 48%). More than half of workers say they’re underpaid for the work they do (second only to Argentina at 53%). And an even bigger share, 67%, say their pay cheques are regularly short (compared to 50% for Europe and 40% globally).
Germany
In Germany, only 16% of workers agree with the statement, “I don’t feel secure in my job,” a small share that ties with China. Yet many workers (27%) lack confidence that they have the skills necessary to advance their careers (compared to Europe at 20% and globally at 18%). Only 28% say their employer invests in skills needed for them to advance, the smallest share in Europe. So it’s no wonder Germans are stressed. Only 5% say they never feel stress on the job, the smallest share of any country.
The Netherlands
Enjoyment on the job is a prized attribute in the Netherlands, with 60% of respondents valuing the enjoyment of a day’s work. No other country comes close (Japan is 50% and Germany 48%). Not only do workers in the Netherlands value enjoyment at work, 80% are extremely satisfied with it. In fact, the Netherlands might have the most satisfied labour force in the world. Large numbers of people report satisfaction with job security (86%), and they’re second only to India in salary satisfaction (70%). In Europe, the Netherlands leads in every category of satisfaction. People feel recognised for their work and consider themselves fairly paid.
Poland
Workers everywhere give high priority to salary, but the share in Poland who value it (68%) is larger than in any other European country and the third largest globally, behind Singapore (71%) and Argentina (70%). That might be why workers in Poland put in the smallest amount of unpaid overtime on the continent: about five hours, compared to nearly seven for Europe. Last year, workers in Poland received the region’s highest annual pay rise (5% to Europe’s 3%). This year, most (56%) are expecting another one.
Spain
Salary is prized by 63% of workers in Spain. That’s a healthy number (it’s 61% in Europe), but what really sets Spain apart is job security, which 42% of workers value compared to 35% regionally. Workers in Spain are less likely to feel like they’re paid fairly (49%) compared to Europe as a whole (52%) and globally (66%). In fact, less than half (48%) say they’re paid fairly for what they do. And nearly half (47%) are obliged to work from the office or job site every day (it’s 41% in Europe and 28% globally).
Switzerland
Workers in Switzerland put in the highest amount of unpaid overtime in Europe—9.2 hours per week (the average is 6.8 hours in Europe). Still, they have the smallest share of workers who feel underpaid (44%). Many workers in Switzerland (27%) say they enjoy great flexibility on the job, and this small country has the smallest share of workers who are required to show up at the workplace every day (31% compared to 41% for Europe). But if workers, for some reason, want to leave Switzerland, 43% of them think it would be possible to relocate overseas and stay with their existing company.
United Kingdom
Compared to their counterparts across Europe, more workers in the UK think they’re paid fairly for their role (58%) and their skill set (57%), but both numbers fall far short of the global averages (66% and 65% respectively). And 15% of workers in the UK are unhappy with their enjoyment on the job, the largest share of any country in Europe and second only to Japan (19%).
Italy
Workers in Italy have a gripe about something interesting: their job titles. More than 16% of workers say they’re dissatisfied with their titles, the largest group of any country. Globally, only 7% of workers have the same complaint; in Europe the share is about 10%. In fact, workers in Italy are unhappy about a lot of things. Much like the peninsula itself, Italy in our survey is an outlier, with large blocks of workers expressing negative sentiment on a number of subjects. Both regionally and globally, Italy leads on dissatisfaction at work. Economic growth is steady in this Mediterranean nation, but public debt as a percentage of GDP is high and rising. Among OECD countries, Italy has one of the lowest growth rates and highest rates of public debt. A privatisation effort is ongoing. Inflation is easing but remains elevated.
Creative compensation: alternative rewards
If pay rises are proving a stretch this year, what alternatives would workers around the world accept? Find out in our global guide.
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People at Work: A Global Workforce View
One of the largest international studies of its kind, canvassing the views of over 34,000 workers in 18 countries, our research provides HR leaders with unique insights into the employee experience — people’s attitudes, aspirations, wants and needs.
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