ManpowerGroup has officially published the results from its Global Talent Barometer 2025, Volume 1, where it was revealed that 89% of workers are confident in their skills and experience to perform their job, but having said so, no more than 62% are satisfied in their roles.
Going by the available details, one-third of the surveyed respondents claimed that they don’t have enough opportunities to achieve their career goals at their current employer.
Anyway, more on the given survey would reveal how it took into account responses from more than 13,700 workers across 19 countries. As for the results, they found 82% saying that their work is meaningful (up 2% from 2024).
Markedly enough, while overall confidence rose to 76% (up 2 points), job satisfaction would drop to 62% (down 1 point), highlighting the growing divide between workers’ skills and their workplace experience.
Another detail worth a mention relates to how 65% feel secure in their jobs over the next six months (down 6 percentage points from 71%).
Covering a critical aspect, ManpowerGroup’s survey also discovered that 49% employees report moderate to high daily stress.
Talk about the published results on a slightly deeper level, we begin from the fact that Gen Z continues to experience the highest daily stress levels (56%), despite feeling increased support. In terms of position, middle managers remain the most stressed group at 82%, whereas on the other hand, essential workers reported the lowest values alignment, adding pressure across frontline roles.
We referred to how middle managers remain the most stressed group, but what we haven’t mentioned yet is that 34% fear job loss within the next six months due to restructuring or AI disruption, while nearly eight in 10 (77%) cite economic instability, restructuring, and AI as their top career concerns.
Furthermore, as more workers now trust leadership (+4% from 2024), it has created a sense of burden for those tasked with developing others while navigating their own uncertainty.
Another detail worth a mention relates to how people required to be fully onsite, with no flexibility, were deemed less likely to leave their jobs (63%) than their remote counterparts (43%). This happens to be the case even though onsite employees report lower well-being (63% Well-Being Index vs. 72% hybrid) and higher stress.
Apart from that, the survey in question also revealed a clear correlation between development investment and retention. In essence, workers who report having career development opportunities show 77% confidence (up 4 percentage points from 2024), as well as those with clear advancement paths report 62% satisfaction (up 5 percentage points).
Staying on the point of employee confidence, hybrid workers were found to lead across all confidence benchmarks.
Despite this being the case, the quality of development continues to hold the utmost significance. You see, roughly one-third of employers recognize that AI can’t replace human-centric skills like ethical judgment (33%), customer service (31%), and team management (30%), but at the same time, many struggle to provide the AI literacy training workers now expect.
Founded back in 1948, ManpowerGroup’s rise up the ranks stems from developing innovative solutions for hundreds of thousands of organizations. This process involves providing them with skilled talent, while simultaneously finding meaningful, sustainable employment for millions of people across a wide range of industries and skills.
The company’s excellence in what it does can be understood once you consider it serves clients from across more than 70 countries.
“The advance of AI means every company is transforming to survive and thrive. But digital transformation is as much about people as it is about technology,” said Becky Frankiewicz, president and chief strategy officer at ManpowerGroup. “The future of work isn’t about control, it’s about partnership. When companies invest in people, people invest back. And right now, people want more; more balance, more flexibility, more humanity, and importantly – more development.”