Three in 10 professionals younger than 35 said they were thriving in 2023, a decrease of four percentage points from 2022, according to Gallup.
Among the younger age group surveyed in the 2024 "State of the Global Workplace" report, 31% of respondents said they were thriving in 2023, compared with 35% in 2022. For those in the 35-and-older age group, 36% of respondents said they were thriving in 2023, compared with 35% in 2022.
In the U.S. and Canada, 50% of those younger than 35 were thriving in 2023, according to the study, compared to 55% of those 35 and older in those countries.
The study categorized well-being into thriving, struggling and suffering categories, based on how respondents rated their current and future life from zero to 10. Respondents were employed individuals 15 and older in more than 160 countries. For the 2023 data, 128,278 individuals responded.
Thriving employees lend to a better work environment, the study noted, and organizations can suffer because of burnout. Although physician burnout decreased last year, multiple healthcare specialities reported rates above 50%.
Since 2009, well-being for younger workers peaked in 2022, according to Gallup; the data showed the decline between 2022 and 2023 followed previous improvements.
As of May, 51% of surveyed professionals of all ages in the U.S. were thriving, with 44% struggling and 4% suffering, according to Gallup.