Champaign, IL — Researchers from the University of Illinois recently set out to determine if workers are feeling more focused and supported than they were about two years ago.
Their findings, detailed in a recent report, show that most employees are continuing to “languish” at work rather than “flourish.”
The report is based on responses to a follow-up survey from a nationally representative sample of 2,000 U.S. workers. Of those, 61% said they struggle with motivation, engagement or fulfillment, which the researchers describe as “languishing.” And around 17.6% are languishing “severely” – up from 11.6% in the initial survey (conducted in August 2024).
Meanwhile, the percentage of workers “flourishing” fell to 39 from 43.
The report addresses why workers may flourish rather than languish, pointing to autonomy and support. An ethical and moral climate also helps employees flourish.
“It’s not enough to be nice to people or give them freedom independently,” lead researcher Oscar Ybarra, a business administration professor at the university, said in a press release. “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.”
The workers who fell into the “languishing” category were more likely to experience burnout, struggle with focus and look for another job.
“Languishing isn’t just an abstract concern,” Ybarra said. “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.”
