Nowhere in the world do workers who believe their jobs are safe from elimination make up a majority. In Poland, only 21% of employees believe their positions are not at risk of being cut, with middle-aged workers expressing the greatest concerns. Those who do not fear their role being eliminated are six times more engaged at work and twice as unlikely to be looking for a new job.
The global labour market is facing a paradox. The latest ADP Research report, People at Work 2026, shows that although unemployment remains low in many countries,[1] only 22% of workers worldwide feel secure in their current jobs. In none of the countries surveyed does a majority of employees feel confident about the future.
This creates an entirely new challenge for employers. Amid the AI revolution and demographic change, companies need to rethink their approach to talent. The organisations that succeed will be those that replace uncertainty with transparency and provide employees with clear development paths.
In Poland, only 21% of workers believe their jobs are not at risk of being eliminated. This is one of the weaker results globally, although several European countries fare even worse, including the Czech Republic at 12%, Sweden at 18% and the Netherlands at 19%.
A sense of insecurity appears to be characteristic of advanced economies. Workers in Japan are the least confident about their future, with only 5% feeling secure, followed by South Korea at 9% and Taiwan at 11%. At the other end of the scale are emerging and developing economies: Nigeria at 38%, Egypt at 32%, India at 30%, and Saudi Arabia and Turkey at 29% each.
Across the world, highly skilled blue-collar workers and employees performing repetitive tasks are more likely to fear the elimination of their jobs than white-collar workers.
“Employment security has become one of the biggest challenges in today’s labour market. Fear of job cuts may result from structural problems in a particular economy, but also from the pace of change: automation, the implementation of artificial intelligence and process optimisation. In such conditions, employees performing repetitive tasks feel particularly vulnerable,” says Anna Barbachowska, HR Director at ADP Poland.
“The current AI boom is also having a visible impact on work at the level of individual tasks. For modern HR departments, this is a clear signal to strengthen employees’ sense of security. Employers need to communicate openly and invest extensively in upskilling and reskilling. The same applies to employees themselves. To remain competitive in the labour market, they need to update their professional skill sets. A proactive approach is essential: continuous learning, testing new tools, including AI, and building transferable skills that can be applied across different roles and industries. It is not only about reacting to change, but about anticipating it and managing one’s career consciously,” she adds.
Job security affects productivity
Global data collected in People at Work 2026 confirm that a sense of stability translates directly into employee loyalty and team performance. Workers who feel confident about their employment are twice as unlikely to consider changing employers.
Moreover, job security has a major impact on motivation. Employees who feel secure within their organisation are six times more engaged and more than three times more likely to report high productivity.
“Employment security is no longer merely a measure of employee sentiment; it has become a critical element of business strategy,” says Dr Nela Richardson, Chief Economist at ADP. “When teams feel secure within an organisation, engagement, loyalty and efficiency increase. Companies that combine honest communication with investment in workforce skills build organisations that are more resilient to market volatility.”
Is it better to be a miner in Europe or South America?
The ADP Research survey highlights significant differences between regions. In Europe, workers in healthcare feel the most secure, with 29% reporting confidence in their jobs. They are followed by employees in education at 26%, and in public-sector technology and related services at 24%.
The least secure workers in Europe are those employed in agriculture and mining, at 17% each.
In Latin America, however, mining is among the more secure sectors, with 27% of employees expressing confidence in their job stability. Finance ranks at 28%, while real estate reaches 30%.
In North America, construction workers feel the most secure, at 39%, followed by employees in information services at 34% and technology services at 33%. Mining workers are the least confident, with only 11% feeling their jobs are safe.
In the Asia-Pacific region, finance appears to be the most secure sector, at 25%, while hospitality is the least secure, at 14%. In Africa and the Gulf countries, finance employees are the least concerned about their future, with 43% feeling secure, while agricultural workers are the most concerned, at 18%.
Across all surveyed markets, employees of the smallest companies, employing fewer than 250 people, feel the least secure. Workers at the largest organisations, with more than 1,000 employees, generally report greater confidence in their job stability.
North America is the exception. There, working for a large corporation appears to be perceived as a risk factor, while employees of medium-sized companies with 250 to 999 workers feel the most secure.
Middle-aged workers in Poland are the most concerned
Age generally has little impact on perceptions of job security. In Poland, however, one clear pattern stands out. The youngest workers, aged 18 to 26, feel the most secure, with 25% saying they do not fear losing their jobs.
This sense of stability drops sharply among older groups. Only 18% of employees aged 27 to 39 say they are not worried about their position being eliminated.
In China, by contrast, workers aged 40 to 54 are the most confident about their job prospects, while the youngest employees face the greatest uncertainty, with only 15% feeling secure. A similar pattern can be seen in Nigeria, where 43% of workers aged 40 to 54 feel safe in their roles, compared with 32% of younger workers.
About the “People at Work 2026” report
The People at Work 2026 report presents the results of a quantitative study conducted by ADP Research as part of its annual Global Workforce Survey. The survey included more than 39,000 working adults across 36 markets.
Its purpose was to examine employee sentiment around the world and assess how workers are navigating the complexity of a changing workplace. The report provides data on employee attitudes broken down by geographic region, type of work and other characteristics, offering a detailed picture of the global world of work.
The findings can help employers better understand their workforce and support development by making data-driven talent decisions.
Responses for the Global Workforce Survey were collected between July 21 and August 4, 2025, from a random sample stratified by age and gender to enable regional and market-level comparisons of employee sentiment. Respondents came from a broad range of industries and educational backgrounds, worked both on-site and remotely, and represented different levels of seniority and skill sets.
The sample included managers and individual contributors from organisations of various sizes.
[1] World Bank data on unemployment: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.UEM.TOTL.ZS?end=2024&start=1991&view=chart
