As the Vice President of Research at Brilliant Ink, I spend a lot of time reading and sharing industry reports about employee experience, communications, work trends, you name it. The workplace is constantly changing and one could spend MANY hours combing through said reports. The volume of employee experience statistics is equally incredible and staggering.

🧢 Get your stat hat on because I’ve rounded up 50+ employee experience statistics you should know in 2024.

You can use these stats in several helpful ways:

• An internal business case for resources or change
• To understand what’s happening in your specific function or department in other organizations  
• To determine if other employees are experiencing similar successes or challenges at their organization
• To see how your organization stacks up when it comes to certain areas, such as AI, for example
• Leisurely reading :)

It goes without saying that these numbers are not the end all be all. Each organization has its nuances and idiosyncrasies, which can often be forgotten when focusing on industry research.

🤓 Remember: Your organization’s data is most relevant to you. But these 50+ employee experience statistics can be helpful guideposts as you set goals, compare progress and challenges, and have internal discussions with stakeholders.

Give me a shout if you’ve come across any other research that’s useful, mind-blowing or just makes you pause for a moment.

Table of Contents

@linkList; ;Return To Office Statistics;Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI);Time and Productivity Statistics;Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statistics;Leadership and Manager Statistics;Employee Burnout and Well-Being Statistics;Employee Engagement and Employee Retention Statistics;Career Growth and Skill-Building Statistics

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RETURN TO OFFICE STATISTICS

Not all leaders are bought into flexible or remote work.
Return-to-office (RTO) mandates are being implemented to address concerns stemming from productivity paranoia to perceived damage to company culture, to the loss of spontaneous brainstorming or watercooler chats. The research shows hybrid models are beneficial to employee engagement.

‍🔹 Hybrid models lend themselves to greater employee engagement.

Employees who work in a hybrid structure have the highest employee experience metrics, while employees who work five days in an office or on-site location have the lowest. (Qualtrics’ 2024 Employee Experience Report)

Engagement

• 0 days in office: 71% 🟡
• 3 days in office: 77% 🟢
• 5 days in office: 60% 🔴

Intent to stay

• 0 days in office: 65% 🟡
• 3 days in office: 68% 🟢
• 5 days in office: 63% 🔴

Inclusion‍

• 0 days in office: 75% 🟡
• 3 days in office: 80% 🟢
• 5 days in office: 67% 🔴

Well-being

• 0 days in office: 73% 🟡
• 3 days in office: 79% 🟢
• 5 days in office: 66% 🔴
  

Across generations surveyed (Gen Z, Millennial, Gen X, and Baby Boomers+), “to focus on my work” is the most important reason for coming to the office. That said, 79% of employees said working in the office positively impacts their sense of community and belonging. (Gensler 2023 Work, Life and the Workplace Report)

‍📝 Note: Employees surveyed were from six major U.S. cities and metropolitan areas. Around 36% of respondents are from New York City.

🔹 Intentional team gatherings at Atlassian had long-lasting effects compared to random office attendance.

Team gatherings at Atlassian lead to an average 27% increase in feelings of connection - and this boost lasts 2-4 months. Their research shows that sporadic office attendance has NO impact on team connection. (Lessons Learned: 1,000 Days of Distributed Work)

Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)

🔹 Prospective employees weigh a potential employer’s DEI commitments as part of their decision-making process to join the company.

• 53% of U.S. workers say DEI is a key factor when considering a company for employment.
• It’s even more important for Gen Z (77%) and Millennials (63%). (2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey)

🔹 When considering a new job, employees said it’s important to see a reflection of themselves at the company. (2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey)

• Nearly 63% said it’s important to know there are employees they identify with
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• 59% said it’s important to know there are leaders they identify with
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• 52% said it’s important to know DEI is a priority for the CEO

🔹 Equity is ranked as a top priority to create a diverse and inclusive workforce.

• When ranking DEI pillars, both Human Resources (HR) leaders (37%) and employees (34%) rank “equity” as the top priority in creating a truly diverse and inclusive workforce. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)

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🔹 There’s still a lot of work to be done around training, hiring and promotion practices and measurement when it comes to DEI.

• 61% of employees state they have not received any DEI training from their employer, only 24% received training during onboarding. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)
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• 18% of employees do not know where to find resources to help them learn more about DEI, while 56% say they can find this information. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)
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• 22% of HR leaders said they have witnessed a decision in their business to not hire or promote someone because they were in a specific age range. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)
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• 19% of HR leaders believe a decision has been made not to hire or promote someone due to their race. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)
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• Women are 1.5x more likely to leave their companies to advance their career than men. (2023 DDI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report)
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• 23% of organizations are not using any tools to measure DEI, with no plans to implement one soon, primarily due to budget constraints. (2023 Culture Amp DEI in the Workplace Report)
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🔹 …And there’s still a lot of work to be done to continue underscoring the importance of DEI and why it matters.

• Only 29% percent of employees say their company has taken more action in the past six months to demonstrate its commitment to DEI. (2023 Eagle Hill Consulting Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Survey)
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• Over the past two years, there has been an 18% decrease in the number of leaders endorsing their company’s overall DEI efforts. (2023 DDI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report)
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• 56% of workers said focusing on increasing DEI at work is mainly a good thing; 28% say it is neither good nor bad, and 16% say it is a bad thing. Men are more than twice as likely as women to say it is a bad thing (23% vs. 9%). Fewer than half (47%) of white workers say it’s a good thing; in fact, 21% say it’s a bad thing. (2023 Pew Research Center Survey)
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• 54% of workers say their company or organization pays about the right amount of attention to increasing DEI, while 14% say their employers pay too much attention, 15% say too little attention and 17% are not sure. (2023 Pew Research Center Survey)
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TIME AND PRODUCTIVITY STATISTICS

🔹 Time is a precious commodity — and employees struggle to find enough of it during the day to get their actual work done. (2023 Microsoft Work Trends Index Annual Report: Will AI Fix Work?)

• Nearly 2 in 3 people (64%) say they struggle with having the time and energy to do their job — and those people are 3.5x more likely to also struggle with innovation and strategic thinking.
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• 68% of people say they don’t have enough uninterrupted focus time during the workday.
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• 62% of people say they struggle with too much time spent searching for information in their workday.

🔹 When asked to rank the following factors based on how disruptive they are to productivity, employees shared the following (2023 Microsoft Work Trends Index Annual Report: Will AI Fix Work?):

1. Having inefficient meetings
2. Lacking clear goals
3. Having too many meetings
4. Feeling uninspired
5. Not easily finding the information I need

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Artificial Intelligence (AI) Statistics

🔹 While some people are concerned about their roles being replaced with AI, leaders and employees alike agree it can help them be more productive.

• While 49% of people say they’re worried AI will replace their jobs, 70% would delegate as much work as possible to AI to lessen their workloads. (Microsoft Work Trends Index Annual Report 2023: Will AI Fix Work?)
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• Business leaders are 2x more likely to choose ‘increasing employee productivity’ than ‘reducing headcount’ when asked what they would most value about AI in the workplace. (Microsoft Work Trends Index Annual Report 2023: Will AI Fix Work?)
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• 3 in 4 employees (76%) would be comfortable using AI for administrative tasks. 79% would be comfortable using it for analytical work and 73% would be comfortable using it for creative work. (Microsoft Work Trends Index Annual Report 2023: Will AI Fix Work?)
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🔹 Transformation – it’s needed to embrace AI and it’s the result of AI.

• 79% of leaders said they expect generative AI to drive substantial transformation within their organization and industry over the next three years. Nearly ⅓ of respondents believe this transformation will happen sooner — 14% believe it will happen now and 17% believe it will happen in less than one year. (Q1 2024 Deloitte State of Generative AI in the Enterprise Report)
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• While 74% of surveyed CEOs said maximizing AI’s potential requires more cross-functional collaboration and 76% said it requires a significant business model transformation, nearly half of surveyed CEOs (48%) and 44% of C-Suite executives said their organizations are not doing a good job of addressing employee and business unit use of AI. (2024 The Conference Board C-Suite Outlook Report)

🔹 Organizations are taking myriad actions to understand how to implement AI most effectively and safely.

When asked what their organizations are doing to actively manage the risks around generative AI implementations, leaders surveyed shared that their organization is taking the following actions:

• 47% are monitoring regulatory requirements and ensuring compliance
• 46% are establishing a governance framework for the use of generative AI tools/applications
• 42% are conducting internal audits and testing on generative AI tools/applications
• 37% are training practitioners on how to recognize and mitigate potential risks
• 36% are ensuring a human validates all generative AI content
• 34% are using a formal group or board to advise on generative AI-related risks
• 32% are keeping a formal inventory of all generative AI implementations
• 26% are using outside vendors to conduct independent audits and testing
• 21% have a single executive responsible for managing generative AI-related risks

(Q1 2024 Deloitte State of Generative AI in the Enterprise Report)

🔹 When asked how their organization may adopt AI, surveyed global CEOs responded with the following:

• 43% are exploring options for adoption in the future
• 23% have already adopted AI into their business operations
• 19% plan to adopt immediately across some business units/operations
• 9% have no plans to adopt
• 6% have plans to adopt immediately across all business units/operations

(2024 The Conference Board C-Suite Outlook Report)

🔹 When it comes to HR AI adoption levels across the globe:

• 38% are talking about AI informally
• 24% have not thought or talked about AI
• 23% are formally looking for ways to deploy AI
• 15% have implemented AI

(2024 Lattice State of People Strategy Report)

🔹 Among employees, it’s important to them that their CEO speaks publicly about issues such as job skills of the future (82%), ethical use of technology (79%) and automation impact on jobs (78%). (2024 Edelman Trust Barometer)

Leadership and Manager Statistics

🔹 A good reminder for us all: A great manager has a broad positive impact.

• Employees who agree “my manager is a great role model for employees” score 27 percentage points higher on motivation. Motivation refers to: “[Company] motivates me to go beyond what I would in a similar role elsewhere.” (2023 Culture Amp State of the Manager Report)
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🔹 When a manager takes an action first (like those listed below), their direct report is:

• 3x more likely to do 1:1s
• 4.7x more likely to give public recognition
• 6.4x more likely to have a development plan
• 19.7x more likely to give continuous feedback

(2023 Culture Amp State of the Manager Report)
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🔹 When leaders under the age of 35 had managers who showed these key behaviors below, they were 6x more likely to trust senior leaders in their companies to do the right thing (2023 DDI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report):

• Listen and respond with empathy
• Genuinely acknowledge failures and shortcomings
• Demonstrate a willingness to be vulnerable
• Inquire about well-being

🔹 Managers are doing well with empowering their teams, handling pressure and navigating change. They could be more hands-on with supporting the career growth of direct reports. (2023 Culture Amp State of the Manager Report)

👍 Where managers are succeeding:

• 89% of employees agree their manager allows them to make their own decisions
• 88% of employees agree their manager remains calm and productive under pressure
• 87% of employees agree their manager copes well with a changing environment

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👎 Where managers can improve:

• 70% of employees agree their manager shows interest in their career aspirations
• 68% of employees agree their manager helps them understand potential career paths
• 66% of employees agree their manager helps them find things that inspire them

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👂 The power of listening is undeniable.

• Listening is a top three trust-building action across business (82%), NGOs (78%), government (82%) and media (81%).
• The percentage refers to the percentage of respondents who indicated that “hear our concerns, let us ask questions” is important to earning or keeping trust. (2024 Edelman Trust Barometer)

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EMPLOYEE BURNOUT AND WELL-BEING STATISTICS

🔹 Burnout continues to be rampant. Microsoft’s chief people officer, Kathleen Hogan, calls it a “human energy crisis.”

• 70% of leaders under the age of 35 report feeling used up at the end of every day, with rates even higher among women and underrepresented or marginalized groups. (2023 DDI Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Report)
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• 57% of employees are experiencing at least moderate levels of burnout and 74% of employees are experiencing at least a moderate level of stress. Gen Z and Millennials are 2x as likely as baby boomers to experience high or moderate burnout. (2023-2024 Aflac WorkForces Report)
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• 75% of women are reporting burnout compared to 58% of men. (2023-2024 Aflac WorkForces Report)
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• 48% of employees are confident their employers care about their mental health. This has fallen 12 percentage points since 2021. (2023-2024 Aflac WorkForces Report)
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• 1 in 3 (33%) of employees surveyed ranked increased time off as their first choice for addressing burnout, followed by options to work from home and self-care programs. (2023-2024 Aflac WorkForces Report)

🔹 While likely not a surprise, let’s say it again for the people in the back: When employees feel cared for and that their well-being matters, they’re more likely to stick around. (2023-2024 Aflac WorkForces Report)

• ‍More than 4 in 5 employees (84%) who believe their employers care about them report high job satisfaction, compared to just a third (32%) of those who don’t think their employers care.
  

• Of employees who said they believe their employers don’t care about their well-being, 60% are at least somewhat likely to look for a new job in the next 12 months.
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EMPLOYEE ENGAGEMENT & EMPLOYEE RETENTION STATISTICS

🔹 New hires are most at risk of leaving your organization. Have you evaluated your onboarding program recently?

• Employees with less than six months of tenure have the lowest intent to stay at their organization for three years or more.
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• Only 38% of new hires (less than six months with the company) intend to stay at their organization for the next three years, compared to 65% of employees from all other tenures. (Qualtrics 2024 Employee Experience Trends Report)

🔹 Some leaders remain skeptical about the ROI of culture and employee engagement. (Running into a similar issue? #ShamelessPlug: Jackie Berg and I can help you build a business case using your data.)

• Only 48% of HR leaders say their C-Suite takes employee engagement survey data seriously. (2024 Lattice State of People Strategy Report)
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• Only 50% of HR leaders say their C-Suite believes positive company culture leads directly to better business outcomes. (2024 Lattice State of People Strategy Report)
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• Global CEOs and global CHROs agree on the top two priorities for human capital management (HCM): Developing leadership and workforce capabilities and strengthening organizational culture.

• Interestingly, “strengthening employee experience” is a priority for 51% of CHROs but only for 25% of CEOs. (How is this so different from strengthening organizational culture?!) (2024 The Conference Board C-Suite Outlook Report)
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🔹 There’s a lot happening in the world – here’s a helpful summary of important topics to proactively address with your stakeholders.

According to a 2024 trends report from Axios HQ and Mixing Board, they predict eight topics that leaders will be focused on and need to be ready for this year:

1. The 2024 Presidential election
2. AI in every workplace
3. A stabilizing economy
4. Rising burnout, weak culture
5. Dissatisfied frontline workers
6. Evolving environmental, social, and corporate governance and climate reporting
7. Social media, news and trust
8. The blurring of communications and marketing

CAREER GROWTH AND SKILL-BUILDING STATISTICS

While 89% of employers feel confident that they are equipped to develop the skills of employees, only 61% of employees agree. On average, there is a 30 percentage-point gap between employer and employee perception around this sentiment since 2020! (Cornerstone People Research Lab 2023 Talent Health Index)

🔹 The top three areas where employees are looking for help include:

1. Additional skills development content: 65%
2. Personalized coaching and mentoring: 62%
3. Tailored and comprehensive career guidance: 59%
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THE CHANGING WORLD OF WORK

These must-know employee experience stats for 2024 make one thing crystal clear: The world of work is constantly changing.

For all of us in the internal comms and HR game, these numbers are more than just fodder for our next presentation or team meeting – they're pointing us towards what really matters for our people. And hey, isn't that what it's all about? Creating a workplace that listens, adapts, and grows with its people?

Whether you're steering the ship back to the office, championing a culture rich in diversity, or trying to keep employee burnout at bay, we at Brilliant Ink are here to roll up our sleeves and strategize with you.

After all, the best way to shape the future of work is to create it together. Let us know if you’re ready to start the conversation.

P.S. Have you come across any other compelling statistics? Have you used any of the above statistics in your day-to-day work? Let me know on LinkedIn.
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Need Some More Inspiration? 

If you’re still reading, I suspect you’re a fellow numbers nerd. Yay! I think you might be interested in some of our other data-y and numbers-related resources.

As we like to say, communicators make the best data storytellers because they know how to distill complex information for a general audience—all while wrapping it up in a captivating, persuasive story. So, dive in below and reach out if you need a hand!  

• ‍Numbers to Narratives: Using Communications Data to Make a Business Case: Learn how to craft data-backed business cases that will make your stakeholders take notice.  
• Numbers to Stories: Data Visualization for Internal Communications: A useful toolkit with a batch of best practices (and free templates!) for the most effective way to share your data story.   ‍ 
• The Internal Communications Data Storytelling Guide: Chock-full of how-to tidbits and practical tips to get you started on your data journey.   
• ‍10 Resources for Measuring Internal Comms Your Way: A handy guide to help you assess and measure your internal communications; make a business case for your intranet, comms plan, and more; track your day-to-day communications and their effectiveness; and ways to keep measurement top of mind.  
• The Internal Communications Salary Report 2022: Whether you’re looking to negotiate a salary increase or advocate for more people or resources for your team, you’re bound to find insights and benchmarks to illuminate your way in this report we developed with Staffbase.