The Great Workplace Reckoning: How 2025 Burned Out Workers and What’s Next for 2026
Inside the burnout, pay, and ethics crises that defined 2025 and what they mean for the year ahead
GUAYNABO, PR (December 10, 2025) – AI resume builder, Resume Now®, today released The Great Workplace Reckoning report, a year-end analysis revealing a workforce at its breaking point. Across nine national surveys, U.S. employees described 2025 as a year of exhaustion, stagnation, and moral fatigue—when “doing your best” stopped being enough and survival replaced ambition.
“If 2024 was the year of quiet quitting, 2025 was the year of conscious survival,” said Keith Spencer, career expert at Resume Now. “Workers aren’t chasing purpose anymore, they’re trying to hold on to their jobs without losing their health, ethics, or sanity. Heading into 2026, people want balance, boundaries, and basic respect before they’ll give any extra.”
1. The Burnout Reckoning
Reports: The Price of Extra Work | Productivity Drain | Time-Wasting Report
Workers began the year navigating extra responsibilities and a workload increasingly bogged down with busy work. These stressors played a key part in the burnout faced by many employees in the early months of 2025.
- 59% of workers said they frequently experience burnout due to difficulty saying "no" to extra work.
- 51% reported that their work often or always involves busy work, with 54% feeling they lack a voice in addressing inefficiencies.
- Data showed that 6 in 10 workers lose over a month of productivity every year to distractions at work.
2026 outlook: If companies can’t curb burnout, workers will. This year will test who learned from the backlash; employers that reward balance and output over hours will keep talent.
2. The Value Equation
Reports: Wage Reality Report | Career Gridlock Report
Pay remained one of 2025’s strongest stressors. Stagnant salaries, inflation, and blocked advancement left workers rethinking the value of their labor.
- 73% of workers struggled to afford anything beyond basic living expenses.
- 60% of workers reported feeling trapped in jobs they want to leave.
- 57% cited the desire for better pay and benefits as their top motivation for switching careers.
2026 outlook: Leverage replaces loyalty. Expect tougher negotiations and compensation treated as the clearest measure of respect.
3. The Morality Gap
Reports: Dirty Moves Report | Values Gap Report | Ethics Fallout Report
Tensions over ethics, fairness, and workplace politics intensified. Workers struggled with how to handle unethical behaviors happening around them.
- 61% of employees stated they have been thrown under the bus at work, with 32% experiencing it multiple times.
- 70% reported seeing leaders bend rules or engage in favoritism at work.
- 47% had considered quitting because their employer's actions didn't align with its stated values.
2026 outlook: Trust becomes the new retention strategy. Employees will measure integrity as closely as income.
4. The Disappearing Worker
Disengagement quietly spread in 2025, as employees withdrew effort in response to burnout and disillusionment.
- 58% of employees admitted to regularly pretending to work.
- 92% of workers said they have job-searched during work hours.
- 24% revealed they had edited their resumes on the clock, with 23% having even applied for jobs using work computers.
2026 outlook: The “ghostworking” honesty gap will challenge leaders: reignite real engagement without demanding blind devotion.
Methodology
The findings draw from multiple Resume Now surveys conducted throughout 2025, each polling 800 to 1,200 U.S. workers across industries, company sizes, and career levels. Responses were collected online through qualified panels and anonymized to identify national trends.
To view the full Great Workplace Reckoning Report please visit https://www.resume-now.com/job-resources/careers/great-reckoning-report or contact Kathy Gardner at kathy.gardner@bold.com.
About Resume Now
Resume Now is a powerful resource dedicated to helping job-seekers achieve their potential. Resume Now’s AI resume builder is a cutting-edge tool that makes creating a resume fast, easy, and painless. Resume Now has been dedicated to serving job seekers since 2005. Alongside its powerful AI resume builder and stylish ready-to-use templates, it also features free advice for job seekers at every career stage, guides for every step of the hiring process, and free resources for writing cover letters. Resume Now is committed to supporting job seekers and workers alike and has conducted numerous surveys related to the experience, trends, and culture of the workplace. These surveys have been featured in Business Insider, CNBC, Fast Company, Yahoo!, Forbes, and more. Keep up with Resume Now on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Pinterest.
