Employee confidence dropped to a new low in February, reaching the lowest point on record since Glassdoor started tracking the sentiment in 2016, according to a March 11 report from the company.
Based on Glassdoor’s Employee Confidence Index, 44.4% of employees reported a positive six-month business outlook.
“Rising economic uncertainty is tamping down employee sentiment and also stretching employees thin as workers are asked to do more with less amid tight budgets and pressure from leaders,” Daniel Zhao, a lead economist at Glassdoor, wrote in the report.
Mentions of layoffs rose in Glassdoor reviews during February, inching up 0.3% month-over-month and climbing 5% year-over-year. It marked the highest level of layoff-related discussion since July 2020.
In discussions of layoffs, employees expressed concerns about job security, stress waiting for the next round of layoffs and burnout from picking up additional work after losing team members.
By industry, employee confidence in government and public administration fell 4.9 percentage points month-over-month, equaling a total decline of 7.3 percentage points year over year.
In addition, only 38% of government workers expressed a positive six-month outlook, tied with the restaurant and food service industry for the lowest positivity across all industries.
“Cuts to the government workforce initiated by DOGE have thrown the future of the federal workforce into disarray, resulting in weakening sentiment,” Zhao wrote.
The labor market remains “frozen in place” as the Trump administration cuts the federal workforce, enforces tariffs and changes numerous policies, economists said about recent jobs numbers. The construction and food service industries already appear to be reporting declines.
As the uncertainty continues, C-suite executives are experiencing a “crisis of confidence,” according to an LHH report. They’re looking for leadership support and stronger C-suite pipelines as they face increasing levels of stress, burnout and turnover, the report found.
