69% of U.S. workers feel underutilized, risking turnover: Resume Now
NEW YORK, UNITED STATES — A survey from Resume Now reveals that 69% of employees believe their skills and abilities are not fully leveraged in their current roles. This disconnect is driving high turnover risk and stalling career progression.
The Resume Now Untapped Talent Report, which surveyed 1,018 United States adults in November 2025, indicates that this widespread underutilization has created a precarious environment for retention.
The report notes, “Many employees feel their roles fail to tap into their full capabilities, creating a gap between what they can contribute and what their jobs actually require.”
“Over time, this underuse can quietly erode motivation, performance, and long-term engagement.”
Pervasive underutilization across U.S. workforce
The data indicate that the feeling of being under-challenged is not an isolated phenomenon but a widespread issue in the modern workplace. Resume Now’s survey found that only 31% of employees report rarely or never feeling underutilized.
On the contrary, respondents say they are either feeling grossly underchallenged and disengaged at all times (13%) or frequently feel they could be doing much more (28%).
Another 28% say they are occasionally underutilized, indicating a significant disconnect between the workforce and its potential output.
This lack of alignment between employee skills and the demands of everyday work carries over into the work itself. The report notes that 87% of employees’ day-to-day work is moderately challenging or not so challenging.
Fifty-eight percent say that their work is moderately hard, 24% that the work is hardly difficult, and 5% that the work is not challenging at all, resulting in boredom.
This lack of stimulation creates a platform for disengagement, with only 13% of employees always finding their day-to-day jobs very challenging.
“When daily tasks fail to challenge employees, work can quickly feel repetitive and uninspiring rather than motivating. Over time, boredom and understretching can negatively impact energy, creativity, and commitment,” the report reads.
Skill misalignment and unrecognized talent
Beyond general job tasks, the survey reveals a critical challenge in how companies identify and deploy individual talent. A large percentage of the labor force believes that either the management does not know about their particular expertise or that their talents are not well-suited to their duties.
More than one in three workers (36%) say their organization shows little to no recognition of their skills, with 9% saying not at all and 27% saying some awareness but little subsequent action.
Only 29% claim to be even somewhat skill-oriented to their daily work, and just a quarter (24%) say the job they do is well-matched with their strengths.
Strengths are seldom given as much concrete impact or work, even when they are considered. The report indicates that 62% of employees believe the organization recognizes their individual strengths; however, these strengths are not central to their work.
Thirty-eight percent indicate they are encouraged to use their strengths in meaningful ways, and only 9% say their unique abilities directly influence projects or new initiatives. This indicates a failure to move from passive recognition to active integration of employee talent.
Leadership inaction on employee engagement
The survey suggests that a primary driver of this widespread underutilization is a lack of effective leadership engagement. Resume Now’s findings reveal a significant perception gap where employees feel management is either oblivious to the problem or unwilling to solve it.
Eighty percent of employees say leadership either does not notice underutilization or notices it but rarely takes action to correct it. More than one in three workers (38%) believe leadership does not notice underutilization at all, including 11% who hold the more cynical view that leadership “does not notice or care.”
The report notes, “Underutilization often persists because leaders either fail to notice it or fail to respond decisively when they do.”
This perceived inaction stands in stark contrast to the small minority of effective managers. Only 21% of employees attest that management is aware of underutilization and responds promptly.
The information suggests that indicators of disengagement are evident to staff. Still, there is a perception that leadership is unaware of the issue or unwilling to make the necessary changes to ensure employees can find skills that match the organization’s requirements.
Retention risks and stalled career growth
The net impact of being bored, unappreciated, and not challenged is a strong motivation among employees to pursue opportunities elsewhere.
The survey data strongly correlate feelings of underutilization with active job-seeking behavior.
Respondents who said they were either very likely (26%) or likely (46%) to seek another job if they felt underutilized in the long run.
This feeling subsequently translates into a bleak timeline for employers: 67% of employees would leave their company within a year if underutilization continues, with almost half (46%) saying they would leave the firm within 6 months.
This loss of interest is not only a risk to future retention but also a current career development liability. Most employees (77%) testify that being underused has adversely impacted their career growth.
This has been very influential for 17% of them, holding them back in major ways and slowing their career progression, and another 32% report that it has slowed their growth moderately.
The report notes, “When employees aren’t able to fully apply their skills, professional growth can slow in subtle but lasting ways. Missed opportunities compound, making advancement harder over time.”
The statistics indicate that when workers are neither stimulated nor allowed to utilize their strengths, their skills do not improve, and their career growth is capped, leading to a self-fulfilling prophecy in which an organization is unable to exploit the talent employees bring at a price.
