American workers have new concerns on their minds as recent policy changes – including global tariffs and pauses in federal funding – have left many employees feeling overwhelmed and lacking knowledge. More than 40% of employees are looking to their HR team to help them understand how these recent policy changes will impact them, according to a survey conducted by Justworks and The Harris Poll.

Employees at companies with less than 100 employees felt less knowledgeable about recent policy changes than employees at larger companies. Non-white-collar workers also reported lower levels of knowledge about recent policy changes compared with white-collar workers, the survey found. Overall, 71% of respondents report feeling anxious as words like “recession” and “trade wars” make headlines almost daily.

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Kristen Smithberg

Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.