2023 has been a challenging year for employees. It kicked off with a wave of layoffs and concerns of an imminent recession. The weakening labor market seesawed power back to employers who have increasingly called workers back into the office. On top of that, new developments in AI propose to dramatically disrupt how we work. It’s no surprise that employees have struggled with burnout and stress in this environment, raising concerns about mental health in the workplace. When you stack all of that up, it’s only fitting that Glassdoor’s word of the year for 2023 is “anxiety.”
And that’s not all we learned this year. We looked back at what career professionals cared about and discussed the most in 2023 based on activity in the communities on Glassdoor. Here’s the rundown.
Word of the year: Anxiety
“Anxiety” as this year’s word of the year set the tone for other prevalent employee sentiments in 2023. Conversations about mental health commonly cropped up in Glassdoor Bowls™, regardless of industry, signifying that the year tested professionals’ psychological well-being across the board. We dove deeper to see what factors contributed to this and found that anxious workers often paired their concerns with terms like “burnout,” “RTO,” and “layoff”, among others.
- Mentions of “anxiety” itself grew 338% in 2023. Professionals fearing a loss of control of their careers is growing as the pendulum continues swinging back to employers.
- The beginning of the year was dominated by news of layoffs and recession fears. Mentions of “layoff” grew 293% in 2023. Even though the economy held on enough to avoid a recession, workers are still anxious about their job security and the ongoing negative impacts of layoffs on their morale, workload, and growth opportunities.
- After layoffs and hiring freezes, workers grappled with tight budgets and limited resources, causing discussions of “burnout” to rise by 12%.
- More positively, workers are more comfortable discussing their well-being as mentions of “mental health” rose 23%.
- Remote work caused clashes between employers and employees, as companies leaned on a weaker labor market to require workers to return to the office. “RTO”(return to office) mentions rose 476% in 2023 as professionals objected to the elimination of this flexible work arrangement.
- Mentions of “ChatGPT” grew 2,639% as developments in AI unlocked new tools that may change how we work in the future. While offering possibilities, AI also contributes to anxiety about job displacement.
Conversations often blended work and life
Communities on Glassdoor allow for authentic connections and conversations at the intersection of work and life. Workers can talk about anything from an annoying coworker to the latest weight loss trend.
Here’s an example of the wide range of topics in communities on Glassdoor from which we saw a significant jump in interest among professionals in 2023:
The community spoke loudly and candidly. The following are the most engaging posts.
Check out the full conversations behind them:
- Recruiters weigh in on cover letters
- Some workers actually want to be in the office
- A guide for using unlimited PTO
- What’s the reason for layoffs?
- Prepare for the threat of ChatGPT
Live polls revealed sentiments on timely work topics
Glassdoor occasionally polled the community to learn more about what professionals really think. These polls centered specifically around workplace themes that dominated news headlines, such as using AI tools at work and the four-day workweek. Here are the highlights of what we discovered:
- Two-thirds (71%) said they would not feel comfortable discussing mental health needs and challenges with their manager. (Poll conducted March 21 – March 23, 2023)
- An overwhelming majority (81%) said they would be more productive if their company implemented a four-day workweek. (Poll conducted June 29 - July 4, 2023)
- More than half of professionals (54%) did not negotiate salary in their most recent role. (Poll conducted August 9, 2023 - August 14, 2023)
- Related to benefits, more than half (51%) are not satisfied with their 2024 package. (Poll conducted November 9, 2023 - November 10, 2023)
- With ChatGPT and AI tools becoming more prevalent, more than half (62%) said they have used them to help with tasks at work. (Poll conducted November 13, 2023 - November 17, 2023)
Expert advice drew a crowd
On the Fishbowl app, Glassdoor regularly hosts experts for industry talks on topics ranging from the monthly jobs report to career pivots. Participants can listen on the app, submit questions, and get real-time answers. We had more than 200 fascinating talks on Fishbowl Live in 2023, but these five were the most attended of the bunch. (Spoiler alert: One of the talks discussed anxiety.)
1. Secrets of MBA admissions
The gist of it: Consultant Christina Björnström takes a deep dive into the MBA admissions process and what applicants should consider before applying to programs.
2. What recruiters want
What experts say: Adam Posner of NPH Talent Group and Teal’s Dave Fano offer actionable tips on interviewing and working with recruiters to find your next gig.
3. How to spot a workplace dealbreaker
Here’s the tea: Dr. Erika Bocknek of Convo and Wayne State University’s Kimberly Stokes share how to identify, communicate, and address red flags at work.
4. Salary negotiation, explained
Straight from the source: The Job Doctor Tessa White details 12 things you can negotiate, pre-offer questions to determine how much leverage you have, and how to get what you want in your next negotiation.
5. Conquering interview anxiety
The details: Dynamic sibling duo Elyce Arcieri, a Cisco Systems Executive, and Joel Arcieri, Chief of Operating Officer at Viewpoint Leadership & Development, shared tips and tricks on overcoming anxiety when you have to interview with a panel.
Despite its ups and downs, we hope this past year on Glassdoor was engaging and helpful for you, wherever you are on your worklife journey. Thank you for showing up and joining the community conversations. Here’s to connecting even more professionals on all things work and life in 2024.
Methodology for Word of the Year: The percentage growth statistics cited are the percentage change in the use of terms in posts or comments on communities on Glassdoor in the U.S. in 2023 vs. 2022 (normalized by the total number of posts/comments). Data for 2023 is up to date through November 8, 2023.