78% of employers are optimistic, workers are burning out: study

CALIFORNIA, UNITED STATES — Seventy-eight percent of United States employers are optimistic about their company’s future, but 49% of their workers say they frequently experience exhaustion and burnout, according to a new Transamerica Institute survey of 1,900 employers and more than 6,100 workers.

Employer optimism masks a growing workforce crisis

Employers are leaning into artificial intelligence (AI): 82% use or plan to use the technology, and 89% acknowledge it will reshape their workforce through job transformation (67%), creation (50%) and elimination (36%). 

Yet only 34% list workforce management as a top priority — a gap that signals organizations are adopting AI faster than they are investing in the workers deploying it. Meanwhile, 44% of workers fear AI will eliminate their skills, compared with just 38% of employers who share that concern.

“As AI promises to revolutionize business models, employers are upbeat about the future, but they may be overlooking their most valuable asset – their employees,” said Catherine Collinson, CEO and president of Transamerica Institute. 

The survey found 52% of employers report advanced technologies are positively impacting operations, even as the workforce bearing those changes shows mounting signs of strain.

Workers are financially stressed and mentally stretched

The human cost of the transition is concrete. Forty-two percent of workers feel anxious and depressed; another 42% describe themselves as unmotivated and overwhelmed. 

Forty-three percent struggle financially and 26% have taken on second jobs to manage inflation. Yet only 27% of employers offer employee assistance programs, even as 70% acknowledge mental health concerns.

“It takes people to implement and operationalize new technologies and, right now, workers are stressed and strained in today’s economy,” Collinson said. 

Ninety-one percent of workers value 401(k) plans as a key benefit, but only 61% of employers offer them — a benefits gap that compounds the financial pressure workers are already carrying.

For business process outsourcing (BPO) and outsourcing companies, the data maps directly onto a talent sourcing opportunity. As domestic workers burn out and employers struggle to close widening benefits, training and mental health gaps, the appeal of offshore and nearshore workforce solutions continues to grow. 

Outsourcing providers that pair staffing with structured development, wellness resources and competitive benefits can offer what many in-house teams are failing to deliver — and do it at scale.