Top 80 Workplace Culture Statistics 2025
- Nancy Maher
- 3 days ago
- 15 min read
Updated: 2 days ago
I didn't know whether to laugh or cry watching Severance, the Apple TV series in which employees’ work and personal memories are surgically separated. The series explores extreme forms of workplace culture. While this is exaggerated, there are some truths here. For example, the struggle for work-life balance, pressure to compartmentalise your identity, superficial wellbeing perks, and the toxic effects of rigid hierarchies and lack of agency.
Workplace culture doesn't happen to an organisation - it's crafted by intentional focus from everyone.
Organisations investing in collaboration and teamwork and five times more likely to be high-performing - Microsoft.
But what’s the secret sauce?
Dive into our top 80 workplace culture statistics, which we love to share with the organisations and leaders who want to drive better workplace cultures. There are always challenges, and team culture is a constant work in progress - you're never done.
Contents
What is Workplace Culture?
Workplace culture is the collective set of values, beliefs, behaviours, and practices that define how people work together in an organisation. It shapes everything from daily interactions and decision-making to how employees feel about their work and how customers perceive the brand. In other words, workplace culture goes beyond perks and policies; it’s the “personality” of the company and a reflection of its core values. Words to describe workplace culture might include collaborative, innovative, inclusive, or even toxic, depending on the environment.
When employees are strongly connected to their team culture, they are 3.7 times more engaged and 68% less likely to experience burnout - Workhuman Gallup Research
Why is Workplace Culture Important?
A positive workplace culture fosters a sense of belonging, motivation, and purpose among employees, leading to higher job satisfaction and productivity. And, in today’s competitive job market, this is incredibly important - a Wiley Workplace Intelligence research report highlights that candidates are prioritising culture over salary.
When asked to choose between culture and money, 73% of respondents said that a positive organisational culture matters most to them - Wiley Workplace Intelligence.
While, according to a 2019 Glassdoor survey:
More than 77% of adults across four countries (US, UK, France, Germany) would consider a company’s culture before applying for a job there - Glassdoor
Companies with strong cultures attract top talent, retain employees longer, and outperform those that treat culture as an afterthought. On the flip side, a toxic workplace culture can lead to high turnover, disengagement, and reputational damage.
Evolving Workplace Culture
First, understand what your people feel about what's working well or what needs improving and then follow up with targeted interventions to solve the right problems.
For example, leadership development programmes, leadership coaching, employee coaching and vision and strategy or team workshops may address pain points and reinforce positive behaviours.
Workplace Culture Surveys
Workplace culture impacts everyone. Every employee, regardless of role or level, is shaped by – and shapes – the organisation’s culture. Regular surveys ensure everyone’s voice is heard and drives continuous improvement.
Several tools and methods help assess the state of your workplace culture:
This assessment is designed to evaluate an organisation’s current culture, identify key cultural attributes, and measure how strongly these attributes are reinforced throughout the company.
The Gallup Q12 survey is a globally recognised employee engagement tool composed of 12 key questions that measure workplace experience. Organisations across industries use the Q12 to benchmark engagement, identify strengths and weaknesses, and guide improvements in workplace culture. The aggregated results contribute directly to Gallup’s annual State of the Global Workplace report, shaping insights and trends on employee engagement.
PrinciplesUs 5Cs Culture Survey
This is an evidence-based assessment tool designed to evaluate key elements that create high-performing teams and thriving organisational cultures.
It measures five core areas:
Connection: How strong are interpersonal relationships and trust?
Candid Communication: How clear are team goals and roles?
Clarity: How clear are team goals and roles?
Collaboration: How well do team members work together?
Contribution: How much does the team contribute to the organisation's objectives?
By gathering employee feedback on these dimensions, the survey provides actionable insights to enhance team cohesion, employee satisfaction, and overall organisational performance.
🤩 Kinkajou is partnered with PrinciplesUs, which developed the 5Cs Culture survey. We incorporate it into our team culture workshops and consulting engagements.
Great Workplace Culture Traits
The best workplace culture examples share these core traits:
Connection and shared purpose: Employees thrive when they feel connected and aligned with a meaningful mission beyond profit, fostering engagement and motivation.
Psychological safety: A culture where people feel safe expressing ideas, taking risks, and learning from failure encourages innovation and open communication.
Flexibility and autonomy: Trust-based leadership that supports work-life balance and empowers employees with autonomy boosts retention and productivity.
Feedback and recognition: Regular feedback, meaningful conversations, mentorship, and recognition strengthen morale and sustain long-term performance.
Fearless, courageous environment: Encouraging employees to speak up, challenge the status quo, and lead with courage unlocks innovation, collaboration, and drives business success.
Toxic Workplace Culture Traits
On the other hand, toxic workplace culture is marked by a range of negative behaviours and dynamics that undermine employee wellbeing, engagement, and organisational success.
Common traits include:
Disrespect: Employees experience rude, dismissive, or hostile behaviour that undermines trust and morale.
Non-inclusiveness: Lack of diversity and exclusionary practices create divisions and limit collaboration.
Unethical behaviour: Dishonesty, favouritism, and unfair treatment damage integrity and employee confidence.
Toxic leadership: Leaders set the tone for what is acceptable behaviour, so permitting toxic behaviours of others erodes trust and ultimately undermines team performance and well-being.
Abusive conduct: Bullying, harassment, and intimidation cause stress, anxiety, and high turnover.
This kind of toxic environment has considerable impact. According to a survey by Oak Engage:
87% of employees say a toxic workplace has negatively impacted their mental health - Oak Engage
Workplace Culture Examples
Some organisations set the gold standard for workplace culture by intentionally designing environments where employees feel valued, empowered, and inspired. These companies don’t just talk about culture - they live it every day, weaving their values into everything from leadership decisions to daily operations.
Spotify is a prime example of a company that has made culture a central part of its identity. Spotify’s “band” culture is built on the idea that employees, like musicians in a band, work best when they can collaborate freely and express their creativity. The company organises its teams into “squads” and “tribes”, encouraging aligned and autonomous teams. Spotify values speed, adaptability, and learning from failure, encouraging people to “make some noise” and embrace change.
Airbnb has built its culture around the concept of “belonging”. Their company’s mission is to create a world where anyone can belong anywhere, and this ethos extends to its employees. Their company-wide meeting practices encourage open and honest conversations through the concept of “Elephants, Dead Fish, and Vomit”. Elephants are the big, unspoken issues everyone notices but avoids discussing. Dead fish are old problems that linger and affect team dynamics. Vomit refers to when someone needs to get something off their chest, and others listen without judgement.
HubSpot is another standout, known for its “HEART” values: humble, empathetic, adaptable, remarkable, and transparent. HubSpot empowers employees with trust and autonomy, supports flexible work arrangements, and encourages open communication at all levels. HubSpot’s approach has resulted in high engagement, rapid growth, and recognition as one of the best places to work globally.
These organisations show that workplace culture is intentional, deeply embedded, and key to sustained business and employee success.
Shifts in the Workplace
The workplace is evolving quickly, and various predictions have been made about what to expect in the future. Here are some workplace shifts according to Gartner:
Expertise gap and collective intelligence
With a surge in retirements, organisations face a loss of experienced talent, while technology disrupts traditional expert-novice knowledge transfer. Companies will increasingly adopt artificial intelligence (AI) to facilitate the flow of skills and knowledge between experts and newer employees.
Organisational redesign for technological innovation
To better leverage AI and other technologies, organisations are restructuring towards flatter, less hierarchical models, centralising functions, and investing in agile learning and fusion teams. This aims to overcome barriers to innovation and improve responsiveness.
Use of AI-powered communication tools ("nudgetech")
Diverse workforces with varying communication preferences create collaboration challenges. AI-driven tools will be used to nudge employees toward appropriate communication styles and channels, enhancing inclusion and cohesion.
Leader and manager development
In terms of HR trends, Gartner suggests that managers are increasingly overwhelmed and underprepared for rapid change. Developing leaders who can coach, support employee growth, and manage complex change is a top priority for HR.
Focus on employee wellbeing, inclusion, and change management
Employee wellbeing, combating loneliness, and fostering inclusive cultures are critical. Additionally, organisations must build change resilience to manage rapid transformations and avoid employee burnout from constant change fatigue.
Top 80 Workplace Culture Stats
As we’ve explored the foundations and real-world examples of workplace culture, it’s clear that culture is incredibly impactful. To put its impact into perspective, here are the top 80 workplace culture statistics that highlight even more why focusing on culture really matters.
Collaboration Statistics
During a typical work week, office workers spend 42% of their time working with others, according to Gensler.
Forbes reports Deloitte research which suggests that when employees collaborate, 60% say they are more innovative...
...And 73% say collaboration also improved their performance.
However, a survey by Corel highlights that 64% of employees report wasting 3 hours per week, minimum, on poor collaboration at work.
Which is concerning, as they also find that 41% of enterprise employees either have left their job or would consider it due to poor collaboration.
80% of employees believe remote collaboration is either the same or better than in-person collaboration at work – Corel.
84% of marketers report experiencing what they consider “collaboration drag” when working cross-functionally – referring to excessive meetings, feedback and decision-making challenges - Gartner.
71% of HR leaders are more concerned about collaboration post-pandemic, compared to pre-pandemic, according to a 2021 Gartner survey.
Organisations investing in collaboration and teamwork and five times more likely to be high-performing - Microsoft.
Collaboration is the strongest driver of customer satisfaction, accounting for 41% of its influencing factors, according to a report by Frost & Sullivan.
Workplace Team Meeting Statistics
Employees spend 31 hours per month, on average, in unproductive meetings, reports Forbes.
Research suggests that 31% of meetings are unnecessary – Otter.ai.
New managers hold 29% more meetings than more experienced managers - HBR.
Forbes reports that 70% of meetings are considered a waste of time.
65% of senior managers said meetings keep them completing their work – Forbes.
Three-quarters of UK workers consider pointless meetings “normal”, reports workplaceinsight.net.
As of May 2023, the amount of time spent in meetings is three times higher compared to before the pandemic, according to a Microsoft study reported by Forbes.
Research by Atlassian suggests that meetings are ineffective 72% of the time.
Atlassian also finds that more than three quarters (76%) agree they feel drained on days when they have many meetings.
62% of employees say they attend meetings that don’t state a goal on the invite – Atlassian.
47% of Baby Boomers never turn on their camera during video conferences, compared to only 22% of Gen Zers who report the same behaviour, reports Forbes India.
Employee Engagement Statistics
Global employee engagement fell from 23% to 21% in 2024 - Gallup, 2025.It is estimated this disengagement cost the world economy $438 billion in lost productivity – Gallup, 2025.
Employees who are strongly connected to their team culture are 3.7 times more engaged and 68% less likely to experience burnout. Workhuman Gallup Research 2023
Globally, 27% of managers are engaged at work, falling from 30% - Gallup, 2025.
Highly engaged business units in high-turnover businesses have 21% less employee turnover, while low-turnover businesses have 51% less employee turnover - Gallup.
The direct line manager determines 70% of team engagement - Gallup.
83% of Millennials are actively engaged at work when they believe their organisation's culture is inclusive - Deloitte.
Highly engaged teams saw 78% lower absenteeism - Gallup.
Highly engaged business units achieve a 10% increase in customer ratings - Gallup.
Workplace Leadership Statistics
Less than half (44%) of the world’s managers say they have received management training – Gallup, 2025.
Manager performance improved between 20% and 28% after teaching managers effective coaching techniques – Gallup, 2025.
82% of UK managers entering a management position have not had any formal management or leadership training, according to the Chartered Management Institute (CMI).
51% of managers are looking for a different job, according to Gallup, 2025.
DDI report that burnout signs among leaders are increasing, with 72% reporting they often feel used up by the end of the day, up from 60% in 2020.
66% of managers and 71% of the C-suite who say they “always” or “often” feel exhausted or stressed, also say would seriously consider moving to another organisation that would support their wellbeing, according to a Deloitte study.
32% women are in senior leadership positions worldwide, WEF.
25% of women surveyed by Deloitte don't want to progress into a senior leadership position in their organisation - the top reason being because they're put off by the company culture.
The Chartered Management Institute found that only 27% of employees believe their managers are highly effective.
69% of US workers said they would quit their jobs over a bad manager, according to a LinkedIn survey, reported in Forbes.
Only 20% of US employees trust the leadership of their organisation, according to Gallup.
Workplace Wellbeing Statistics
$322 billion of turnover and lost productivity cost globally due to employee burnout, according to Gallup.
Employees who are engaged and NOT thriving have a 61% higher likelihood of burnout, compared to those who are engaged and thriving – Gallup.
Just a quarter of US employees strongly agree with their organisation cares about their overall wellbeing – Gallup.
The World Economic Forum’s Thriving Workplaces report finds that improving workplace wellbeing could boost the global economy by $11.7 trillion.
Just 29% of employees are happy at work, according to Indeed’s Work Wellbeing 2023 report.
59% employees surveyed agree they feel stressed at work most of the time – Indeed Global Work Wellbeing Report 2024, analysed by the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre with Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and Dr. George Ward.
22% of employees surveyed are thriving at work - Indeed Global Work Wellbeing Report 2024, analysed by the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre with Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and Dr. George Ward.
Employee wellbeing predicts future business performance - Indeed Global Work Wellbeing Report 2024, analysed by the University of Oxford Wellbeing Research Centre with Dr. Jan-Emmanuel De Neve and Dr. George Ward.
Happy employees are 13% more productive, according to research by Oxford University's Saïd Business School.
27% of workers say work has a negative impact on their mental health – CIPD Good Work Index, 2022.
Workplace Flexibility Statistics
76% of workers say flexibility in when and where they work influences their desire to stay with an employer - Robert Half, 2025.
Globally, 36% of exclusively remote employees are thriving, compared to 33% overall - Gallup, 2025.
Globally, 42% of hybrid employees are thriving, compared to 33% overall - Gallup, 2025.
Globally, 31% of exclusively remote employees are engaged, versus 21% overall - Gallup, 2025.
Globally, 23% of hybrid employees are engaged, versus 21% overall - Gallup, 2025.
75% rank flexible hours and scheduling in the top five most important workplace benefits, secondary just to competitive pay (81%) - Zoom partnered with Morning Consult.
43% believe that flexible work is not a perk anymore, but a basic expectation - Zoom partnered with Morning Consult.
79% of Gen Z and younger Millennials (<30 yrs) preferred flexible hours to any other benefit in the workplace - Zoom partnered with Morning Consult.
8 in 10 US employees say workplace flexibility has improved over the last ten years, with employees citing greater productivity and reduced burnout as primary benefits. Flexibility is particularly important to women, who report more focused work time when working remotely - McKinsey Women in the Workplace 2024
41% employers allow hybrid working with formalised policies, with 19% having informal practices between managers and employees - CIPD’s 2024 Labour Market Outlook survey.
Inclusive Workplace Statistics
Ethnically diverse companies are 36% more likely to financially outperform averagely diverse competitors - McKinsey and World Economic Forum.
Gender-diverse companies are 25% more likely to financially outperform averagely diverse competitors - McKinsey and World Economic Forum.
39% of global jobseekers have turned down or decided against pursuing a job opportunity due to a perceived lack of inclusion - McKinsey and World Economic Forum.
61% of women say focusing on increasing DEI at work is a good thing, compared to 50% of men - Pew Research Centre, 2023.
78% of Black, 72% of Asian, and 65% of Hispanic employees report that focusing on DEI at work is a good thing, compared to 47% White employees - Pew Research Centre, 2023.
Around 1 in 5 (21%) say that focusing on DEI at work is a bad thing - Pew Research Centre, 2023.
According to McKinsey & Company’s Women in the Workplace 2024 report, in the US, 70% of C-suite leaders are men, compared to 29% of women.
Organisations prioritising inclusion are 73% more likely to generate revenue from innovation, as reported by HBR.
42% of Gen Zs and 41% of Millennials believe managers have a responsibility to foster a positive and work culture, but just 22% of Gen Zs and 21% of Millennials believe it’s happening – Deloitte Gen Z and Millennial Survey, 2025.
Organisations with a female CEO have greater gender-balance on their boards (35.3% women) compared to those with a male CEO (23.0% women on boards) – Deloitte, 2024.
Neuroinclusion Workplace Statistics
53% of UK tech workers identify as neurodivergent, versus employers report that 3% of their tech employees are neurodivergent – Diversity in Tech report 2024.
33% of neurodivergent employees are dissatisfied with the support they receive from their employer, according to City & Guilds Foundation 2025 Neurodiversity Index report.
Just 34% of UK neurodivergent employees said they felt well supported in their workplace - City & Guilds Foundation 2025 Neurodiversity Index report.
37% of UK managers report not having had any neurodiversity training, according to the City & Guilds Foundation 2025 Neurodiversity Index report.
Just over half (55%) disclosed their neurodivergence in the workplace with an adequate or positive response in 2024, increasing from 42% in the UK 2023 – City & Guilds Foundation 2025 Neurodiversity Index report.
Neurodiversity mentions in UK job postings have nearly quadrupled in recent years – rising from 1% in January 2018, to 3.8% in December 2024 – Indeed Hiring Lab, 2025.
According to research by Birbeck university, the general level of knowledge about neurodiversity in organisations is rated as 2.55 out of 5.
Lack of disclosure (69.3%), followed by lack of understanding of neurodiversity by managers/decision makers (65.4%) are considered major barriers to implementing neuroinclusive adjustments such as coaching - Neurodiversity at Work, 2023, Birbeck university.
92.1% report having a DEI policy, however just 22% say it included a focus on neurodivergence – Neurodiversity at Work, 2023, Birbeck university.
Only 52% of employers surveyed by CIPD say there is a general awareness across their workforce about what neurodiversity is and the importance of it – CIPD, 2024.
Final Thoughts
Workplace culture is everything. So why not create one that you love?
Organisations investing in employee and leadership support, collaboration, flexibility, diversity, equity, and inclusion attract great people and drive business success.
➡️ Want a head start? Check out our team culture and vision and strategy workshops, leadership development, ADHD coaching, and consulting services for a workplace culture booster.
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