Glassdoor’s economic research maps the trends that will dominate the labor market in 2026, describing a landscape of rapid change.
Glassdoor is one of the most popular job search platforms, with international appeal, and also hosts Greek ads. Its originality is that employees anonymously evaluate companies and their employers, exchanging information and advice on salaries, hours, and working conditions.
As it is the first platform to establish the above method, it collects a huge amount of data every day and regularly publishes surveys on the labor landscape.
The good and the bad news
The new research “Glassdoor’s Worklife Trends 2026” focuses on the labor market in the US. However, it gives a preview of global labor trends, especially with regard to large and multinational companies. Judging by the fact that international economic shocks usually come to our country with a delay (the 2008 financial crisis “exploded” in Greece in 2010), the future of work holds shocks in store.
Of the five main work trends that stand out for 2026, three are clearly negative: distrust, layoffs, and shaken morale. The other two (return to the office and artificial intelligence) create mixed feelings among employees, depending on how they are implemented.
Finally, the research leaves a positive touch, but it is doubtful whether it is enough to “golden” the pill of job insecurity. New graduates who manage to find a job will have slightly better salaries than their immediate predecessors.
1. High distrust – The gap between employees and managers is widening
The report highlights that trust in leadership, that is, in managers and supervisors, has decreased dramatically since 2023.
In the anonymous evaluations that employees leave for company management, criticisms referring to “distrust” (26%), “miscommunication – communication gap” (25%), “distancing / disconnection” (24%) and hypocrisy (18%) have increased significantly. Criticisms accusing management of acting in the wrong way, against the interests of employees, have also more than doubled.
As employees prepare to welcome 2026, they are expressing increasingly intense skepticism about the decisions made in management offices. Whether it’s back-to-the-office policies, staff restructuring or the rapid adoption of artificial intelligence, employees aren’t convinced that managers are working for their own good. In fact, they fear the opposite. In industries like media and technology, the workplace climate is deteriorating the most, Glassdoor analysts say. Rapid change, layoffs and the pressures of artificial intelligence are widening the gap between executives and workers.
2. Rolling layoffs
Instead of massive, one-time job cuts, companies are now making small, ongoing “mini-layoffs,” occurring roughly every six months. Repeated, sporadic layoffs now account for 51% of layoffs (up from 38% in 2015). This trend is expected to continue into 2026, adding to employee concerns.
Rolling layoffs may offer companies a way to reduce staff without making headlines, but they create a culture of anxiety, insecurity, and dissatisfaction among employees.
3. The Return to the Office Continues
Average career opportunity ratings on Glassdoor have fallen from 4.1 (out of 5) in 2020 to 3.5 in 2025 for remote and hybrid workers. As employers prioritize office-based workers for career advancement, the pressure to return to physical workplaces will intensify in 2026.
Even when not strictly enforced by management, employees themselves feel that if they want to be promoted and be more “visible” to managers, they must be physically present every day, rather than working from home.
While remote work is not going away, its “shine” will fade and compromises will increase. Workers will increasingly feel forced to choose between the flexibility and autonomy offered by remote work and career development.
4. Artificial intelligence has not yet shown its teeth
Job satisfaction among employees in occupations with high exposure to AI has declined slightly relative to other occupations since 2022. However, while the adoption of AI is spreading across the economy, there is no hard evidence yet of a widespread impact on workers. While employee fears about their long-term job security are growing, there is no major decline in ratings for now.
But there are also jobs that are more negatively affected by the adoption of AI solutions: translators, software engineers (software engineers in the vernacular), copywriters, who see a sharp decline in their career prospects. But for most workers, the impact of AI is more psychological than practical. 2026 will continue to be a year of AI experimentation, rather than AI disruption.
5. Always have a job, not a gap in unemployment
As hiring becomes more difficult, job seekers are becoming less selective and accepting whatever jobs they can find.
Those at the beginning of their careers in particular are more likely to take on roles that do not meet their ambitions and do not utilize their talents.
With the job market not expected to improve much in 2026, job seekers will continue to water down their wine. The forecast is that the trend of “there is work” will continue in 2026, as a result of which many workers will remain in jobs that are not suitable for them. This carries the risk of slowing down career development and income growth for workers, especially for younger workers. These trapped workers will exacerbate the disconnection crisis already affecting today’s workforce.
Starting salaries rising
According to Glassdoor, actual increases in starting salaries declined between 2020 and 2022. But in 2026, they appear to be rebounding.
For workers with zero to four years of experience, salary growth is on the rise, and 2026 will be the first year that their purchasing power exceeds 2020 levels.
