Stagnant wages and rising costs are hindering the ability of American workers to achieve their life goals, including buying a home, starting a family and saving for retirement.
A new survey of 1,065 American workers by career services company Zety found that 36% of employees feel hopeless, anxious or frustrated about their financial situation. Half of survey respondents said starting or growing a family is beyond their means at their current salary, while 40% said they can’t save for retirement and 36% said homeownership is unattainable. Survey respondents also said they’ve had to delay or give up on pursuing higher education and traveling due to finances.
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Twenty-six percent of respondents said inadequate salary growth and lack of access to higher-paying jobs are the biggest barriers to achieving life goals. Another 26% said unexpected financial burdens such as healthcare costs or emergencies have impacted their ability to achieve their life goals, and 22% said the rising cost of living is having an impact.
Nearly all survey respondents (90%) said their financial concerns regularly impact their emotional wellbeing, the study found. About 40% said their financial concerns affect their emotional wellbeing weekly, while 34% are affected monthly and 16% said they are affected every day.
Seventy percent of workers feel disengaged at work due to their current pay and 36% said they feel less motivated to go beyond their core job responsibilities. Twenty-six percent of survey respondents said they are looking for new job opportunities as a result of their financial stress. Meanwhile, 1 in 5 workers are focused on finding ways to increase their income rather than improving their work performance, the survey found.
About 45% of workers said they have taken on extra responsibilities at work to boost their pay, while about 30% said financial stress has lowered their motivation to advance in their career. Twenty-nine percent have switched jobs multiple times in search of better pay and 20% said they have prioritized job security over career growth due to financial pressures.
“This survey highlights a troubling trend where financial instability is crushing workers' ambitions and emotional wellbeing,” said Jasmine Escalera, career expert at Zety. “When workers can’t see a path to major life milestones like homeownership or retirement, it’s not just about numbers on a paycheck — it’s about hope slipping away.”
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