Poll: Just 24% of workers think their employer cares about their well-being

In a new Gallup survey released Friday morning, only 24% of employees said they believe their employer cares about their well-being, down from 49% at the height of the pandemic.

Why it matters: The country is apparently getting back to normal. Since Gallup started asking about this back in 2010, only about a quarter of employees typically believed well-being was something the boss truly cared about.

During the COVID-19 crisis, when employers were regularly communicating plans and policies and health concerns, more workers got the sense they actually mattered.

• As the pandemic dragged on, workers burned out and variants kept uncertainty alive — and that sense diminished.
• At the same time, worker expectations around flexibility and treatment changed, said Jim Harter, chief scientist for Gallup's workplace management practice.
• In other words, the bar has been raised, and workers expect more now.

The bottom line: We're back to normal in some ways, Harter said, but "not a real good normal."