Glassdoor's word of the year defined the worker experience in 2025: The workforce is 'running on empty'

For many workers, 2025 was a year defined by strict RTO mandates, massive layoffs, and exhausting job hunts. It's little wonder, then, that according to Glassdoor, one word summarized the mood of the workforce this year: "fatigue."

"This year, workers spent a lot of time on edge — worried about the next headline, technology shift, or economic surprise coming around the corner," Glassdoor said in a Dec. 10 blog post. "Politics dominated, layoff fears lingered, economic concerns mounted, and AI disruption accelerated. The result? A workforce running on empty."

The job site compared mentions of "fatigue" across the Glassdoor Community from Jan. 1 to Nov. 18, 2025, to mentions from all of 2024 and saw a 41% spike.

"Workers don't feel like this job market is working for them. We are in an environment of sluggish hiring, limited career growth, limited pay growth, and all of these things are leaving workers feeling sour about where things are," Daniel Zhao, chief economist at Glassdoor, tells CNBC Make It.

Glassdoor pointed to a few factors behind worker fatigue this year. One was politics, with mentions of "inauguration" jumping by 875% year-over-year.

Another was economic uncertainty and stagflation, as many workers felt recession fears and saw their wage growth lag behind the pace of inflation. "Stagflation" mentions rose more than threefold from 2024.

Lastly, Glassdoor pointed to AI disruption — uses of the word "agentic" ballooned 2,244% year-over-year — as well as feelings of job search burnout and layoff anxiety.

Workers could also be feeling residual stress and anxiety from the upheaval of the pandemic in recent years, Zhao says.

"We've had five years of a roller coaster, starting with the pandemic and really not stopping at all," Zhao says. "It's not a surprise that workers are drained."

Trends like "job hugging" that surfaced this year indicate workers may feel unhappy or disengaged but are staying put because of the tough job market.

"Not only do workers feel stuck in their jobs, they also feel stuck in their careers, and that means that many workers are feeling burned out," Zhao says.

There's a "disconnect between employees and leaders" right now, Zhao says, around things like AI policies, return-to-office orders and efficiency drives at a time when many workers are feeling fatigued.

"It's ironic that employers are pushing so hard on productivity and efficiency, but they aren't putting as much effort into making sure that their workforces are engaged," Zhao says.

"If workers don't feel like they're going to be rewarded for the effort they put in, and they are disengaged as a result, then they're just not going to be as productive."

For job seekers, Zhao notes it's a difficult market but suggests simple ways to cope: building community with other people looking for work, having a support system, taking breaks as necessary and pacing yourself.

For workers feeling stretched thin, deprioritizing tasks that aren't crucial to your growth can help. Some workers are also "looking for other ways to grow their careers, other ways to feed their ambitions, because that's where the rewards are," Zhao says. That could mean pursuing side gigs or projects that will help them develop their skills or set them up for their next career move.

When dealing with burnout specifically, experts typically recommend finding ways to build some distance from your stressors, reevaluating your priorities and setting boundaries.

"Finding what motivates you is important to resetting expectations and managing burnout," Zhao says.

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