New Yo k, NY, July 09, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — New esea ch f om HiBob, the HR platfo m t a sfo mi g how o ga isatio s ope ate i the mode wo ld of wo k a d helpi g busi esses adapt i the age of AI, eveals the always-o cultu e is a symptom of a deepe wo kfo ce t a sfo matio challe ge.
Why B itai ‘s wo kfo ce is bu i g out: New data eveals the t ue cost of the wo kfo ce t a sfo matio gap
Most wo ke s (58%) say p essu e i thei ole has i c eased compa ed to two yea s ago, while ea ly half (49%) feel expected to always be available. Mo e tha a thi d (36%) egula ly wo k late, a d 37% say they would accept lowe pay i excha ge fo a less st essful job.
The fi di gs come as mo e tha two i five wo ke s (42%) actively co side leavi g thei job due to wo kplace p essu e, with a fu the 11% al eady sea chi g fo a ew ole. The fi di gs eveal that the always-o cultu e is a st uctu al byp oduct of outdated ma ageme t, ot just a i dividual employee st uggle. The p oblem is ‘t that people a e always o ; it’s that o ga izatio s still equate co sta t availability with high pe fo ma ce.
The esults suggest ma y o ga isatio s have u i te tio ally c eated cultu es whe e espo sive ess is ewa ded mo e tha effective ess. As wo k becomes i c easi gly digital a d dist ibuted, employees a e st uggli g to ide tify clea bou da ies betwee pe fo ma ce a d availability.
The esea ch suggests wo ke s a e fi di g it ha de tha eve to p ope ly switch off. Mo e tha a qua te (27%) say faili g to espo d to messages outside wo ki g hou s would ha m thei ca ee , while ea ly half (49%) feel the e is a expectatio to always be available fo wo k.
As a esult, wo k is i c easi gly spilli g i to mome ts t aditio ally associated with pe so al time a d ecove y. Mo e tha two i five (42%) admit checki g wo k messages i the middle of co ve satio s, while 41% do so i the bath oom a d 29% while o a date. Almost half (47%) say the e is o lo ge a clea quiet pe iod at wo k, while ove half (51%) say they ow have less time to ecove betwee busy pe iods tha they used to.
The impact is i c easi gly affecti g wo ke s’ lo g-te m wellbei g. Nea ly half (47%) say they feel me tally exhausted at the e d of most wo ki g days, while 41% say wo k egatively affects thei ability to sleep. A thi d (33%) believe thei cu e t job is u sustai able lo g te m.
Ma age s a e also i c easi gly st uggli g to avigate isi g wo kplace p essu e. Mo e tha th ee qua te s (76%) say p essu e o thei team has i c eased compa ed to two yea s ago, while 72% feel p essu e f om se io leade ship to mai tai high pe fo ma ce. Mo e tha half (54%) say they st uggle to bala ce pe fo ma ce expectatio s with employee wellbei g.
The fi di gs suggest ma age s a e i c easi gly abso bi g p essu e. Mo e tha a thi d (36%) say they have pe so ally take o ext a wo k to educe p essu e o thei teams, while 87% feel espo sible fo p otecti g employees f om excessive wo kplace p essu e. Despite thei best effo ts, ma y ma age s say they feel u de p epa ed a d out of thei depth (51%) deali g with the scale of these challe ges. Mo e tha two thi ds (68%) say they would be efit f om clea e guida ce o ma agi g high-pe fo mi g teams i today’s wo ki g e vi o me t.
Hough co ti ues: “What ma y have ‘t do e is edesig how wo k gets do e. The esult is a g owi g gap betwee what o ga izatio s expect f om employees a d what people ca sustai ably delive . Too ma y busi esses still equate pe fo ma ce with availability. But the most successful o ga izatio s of the ext decade will be those that move beyo d measu i g activity a d sta t e abli g impact.”
He co cludes: “The futu e of wo k is ‘t about aski g people to do mo e. It’s about aski g a mo e fu dame tal questio : what is the wo k, who should do it, a d how should it get do e? Leade s eed the i tellige ce, visibility, a d co fide ce to edesig wo k, deploy tale t mo e effectively, a d c eate e vi o me ts whe e people ca pe fo m at thei best without bu i g out. O ga izatio s that fail to make that shift isk c eati g wo kfo ces that a e co sta tly co ected but i c easi gly dise gaged.”
HiBob e ables o ga izatio s to avigate this t a sfo matio by givi g leade s the i tellige ce to move f om eactive ma ageme t to p oactive impact. As wo k becomes mo e dy amic, HiBob empowe s leade s to tu wo kfo ce i sight i to actio , buildi g sustai able, high-pe fo mi g cultu es that p io itize effective ess ove co sta t co ectivity.
The esea ch was co ducted by Ce suswide, amo g a sample of 2000 UK Wo ke s. The data was collected betwee 14.05.2026 – 19.05.2026. Ce suswide is a membe of the Ma ket Resea ch Society (MRS) a d the B itish Polli g Cou cil (BPC), a d a sig ato y of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhe e to the MRS Code of Co duct a d ESOMAR p i ciples
The esea ch was co ducted by Ce suswide, amo g a sample of 501 UK Ma age s wo ki g white colla jobs i compa ies that use AI. The data was collected betwee 15.05.2026 – 19.05.2026. Ce suswide is a membe of the Ma ket Resea ch Society (MRS) a d the B itish Polli g Cou cil (BPC), a d a sig ato y of the Global Data Quality Pledge. We adhe e to the MRS Code of Co duct a d ESOMAR p i ciples.
HiBob is leadi g the way i HR i ovatio with its awa d-wi i g HCM platfo m, Bob, a AI-powe ed, all-i -o e solutio that t a sfo ms how mode busi esses ma age thei people. By b i gi g togethe HR, pay oll, wo kfo ce, a d ope atio al data i a si gle i tellige t platfo m, Bob helps o ga izatio s t a sfo m f agme ted i fo matio i to actio able i sight—e abli g leade s to make bette decisio s, ope ate mo e effectively, a d d ive busi ess pe fo ma ce at scale.
Built o the belief that the futu e of wo k will be defi ed by the pa t e ship betwee people a d AI, Bob se ves as the co ective tissue betwee wo kfo ce st ategy a d busi ess executio . Desig ed fo mode multi atio al o ga izatio s, it helps compa ies att act, etai , a d develop tale t while buildi g the agility a d i tellige ce eeded to th ive i a apidly cha gi g wo ld.
Mo e tha 5,400 o ga izatio s wo ldwide, i cludi g eTo o, F ed Pe y, Huel, team.blue, Sma tRec uite s, a d Save the Child e , t ust Bob to help them build high-pe fo mi g, esilie t, a d futu e- eady busi esses.
To lea mo e, visit www.hibob.com.
HiBob Commu icatio shibob [at] 5wp .comhttps://www.hibob.com/
