Less than one-third of global workers feel their jobs are safe, ADP survey data shows
Workers at the Siemens Healthineers AG global talent center (GCC) in Bengaluru, India, on Thursday, April 27, 2023. Global talent hubs have gone far beyond technical support, but their growth poses challenges for both multinational companies and Indian cities. Photographer: Aparna Jayakumar/Bloomberg via Getty Images
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Workers around the world are using artificial intelligence and often working unpaid hours. But many still feel restless about their jobs and are not engaged at work.
These are just some of the findings in payroll and human resources services provider ADP’s People at Work 2026 report, which surveyed more than 39,000 adult workers in 36 markets in 2025.
Workers feel deprived of job security
Even if there is global unemployment historically low levelsWorkers do not feel their jobs are safe.
Only 22% of workers worldwide strongly agree that it is safe for their jobs to disappear, ADP finds.
Nor did any market in the survey have a majority of workers feeling confident that their jobs were secure. The country with the highest rate of employees feeling safe was Nigeria with 38 percent, while the lowest rate was seen in Japan with 5 percent.
In the US, only 28 percent felt safe, while in the UK, only 25 percent shared the same feeling.
Unpaid work is common
Many workers also say they give employers time they are not paid for.
ADP found that 62% of workers globally say they work up to five hours a week without pay. Another 26% reported working six to 15 unpaid hours, while 12% reported working 16 or more unpaid hours per week.
Unpaid work was especially common among managers and senior leaders. The data showed that half of senior executives and C-suite executives worked at least six unpaid hours per week, while 20% worked 16 or more unpaid hours.
This extra effort may seem like commitment, but ADP warns it can come with trade-offs.
Workers who spent most of their unpaid work hours were generally quite busy and were likely to find meaning in their work.
On the other hand, they were also more likely to report feeling less productive, less successful, and more likely to look for another job.
Employees using AI are less stressed but feel less productive
Artificial intelligence tools such as ChatGPT have been in workplaces since 2022, promising employees increased productivity. But ADP’s research found that daily AI users are four times more likely than non-users to say they are less productive than they could be.
“The more people use AI to get their work done, the more they feel like they are accomplishing less than they could,” ADP wrote.
But it’s not all negative for these AI users. The survey showed that employees who reported using AI often exhibited higher engagement, less stress, and were more positive about their teammates.
“What’s even more important is feeling like you’re on the best team. The more people use AI, the more likely they are to report that they’re on the best team,” ADP said.
30% of people who used AI tools every day were completely focused on their work. However, the participation of employees who had never used AI was only 14%.
Participation is a big challenge
Employee engagement has increased since the pandemic but remains low. Only 19% of employees globally will be fully engaged by 2025, ADP finds. Although participation varies greatly by market. While Brazil had the highest rate with 29 percent, China had the lowest rate with 11 percent.
By region, participation was highest in the Middle East and Africa with 25%, and lowest in Asia-Pacific with 15%.
ADP said employers can make progress by investing in skills, building confidence, helping employees find purpose and reducing stress.
The skills connection was particularly strong: 53% of employees who strongly agreed that their employers invested in them were fully engaged. Where this support was lacking, only 12% were fully engaged.
ADP also added: “Employees who find meaning in their work are 12.5 times more likely to be fully engaged than employees who do not. This can be as simple as asking people where they find purpose and giving them aligned opportunities.”
