The human experience at work can be hard to measure and is not static. We are susceptible to influence, responsive to new information, and subjected to geopolitical, social, and digital trends that shape how we think, act and work. Follow key trends, themes and topics that are top of mind for US workers in this report.
With a collective 50+ years of research and advisory experience, CivicScience and idealis have partnered to produce a real-time report on important workplace topics. Please reach out to hello@idealisadvisory.com if you have additional questions not addressed here.
The Pulse of the US Workforce is a real-time pulse of the thoughts and experiences of workers in the United States across sectors, industries and backgrounds. Using best-in-class research methodology combined with best-in-class knowledge of workforce dynamics, this report provides a summary view of what you need to know, what you may benefit from knowing, and what you need to keep a pulse of as it relates to leading people and companies.
You can’t solve what you can’t see. We’re here to shed light on what you need to see, so that you can understand and address your most pressing and time urgent human capital challenges.
The Pulse of the US Workforce is built in collaboration with Civic Science, a market research firm. This powerful partnership brings a combined 50+ years of experience understanding, studying, motivating and unlocking human potential by deepening understanding of the sentiment and experiences of people at work and in the world.
The Pulse of the US Workforce is a monthly report, with a set of “always on” questions to measure certain items over time, and a “spotlight” section that measures items related to a specific topic of relevance. Each month will have a spotlight in line with current events, trends, and concerns we are hearing from everyday leaders, Boards, and C-level executives.
Quarterly, we will pulse our report consumers (you!) to understand what you want to know more about, and adapt the report and spotlight sections accordingly. If something is on your mind, we want to know about it.
That doesn’t mean we can provide insights right away, but we want to make this report relevant to you, and the best way to do this is to ask.
The data featured in our report represents the US workforce. We survey a sample of workers in the United States and weight our sample to reflect the demographics of the US workforce according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. That means that your industry, sector and company will be reflected in the data set proportionate to your representation in the broader workforce economy.
Specific cuts of data by industry, sector and company are not the core of this report; however, you can contact us to see if we can run a specific research study or project just for you. We’d be happy to help.
The workplace and world is changing at lightning speed. What was a non-issue of yesterday is a pressing issue we face today because of the pace at which we are consuming information, adopting new innovations, and having to adapt to changing contexts. And we must anticipate the issues of tomorrow - so that we can position ourselves proactively to address what is coming, rather than having to pivot in the moment, unprepared.
This report enables this level of tracking for companies and leaders. By offering a time-based view of critical workplace and workforce questions, you can keep a pulse on the trends that reflect the thoughts and experiences of the US workforce. And, by providing deep-dive perspectives on topics that are relevant in the moment, you can pace with the changing mindsets and perspectives of your most critical asset - the people in your workforce.
The ideal consumer of this report is a leader who has responsibility for worker, workplace and workforce experiences. This is essentially every leader who has responsibility for a person, team, or company. However, there are some roles that may find this knowledge to be strategically relevant given the decisions they make and actions they take on human capital. Here are a few profiles that may find this report useful:
Institutional Investors: With human capital being one of the greatest expenses on the balance sheet, institutional investors will benefit from this report by elevating their understanding of what the US workforce is experiencing today, and how investment assets are addressing these issues to establish a competitve edge. The risk profile of a company rises exponentially when human capital issues are left unaddressed; this report will help investors be proactive in the management of human capital risk on topics of deep relevance.
Private Investors: Many private investors conduct their own diligence on companies and leaders and are operationally positioned to support human capital issues as they emerge. However, as many deal and operating partners in private equity institutions have shared, these issues consume a significant amount of time, and are buried deep in the underbelly of a company. Private investors can leverage this report to stay abreast on topics that are critical to focus on, create frameworks for what to measure regularly, and drive greater accountability for management teams to address issues that may introduce risk if left unattended.
Boards: Board members have fiduciary responsibility to manage risk and protect long-term value creation for a company. This report offers Boards an in-depth understanding of what the US workforce is thinking about and doing, which can be used to catalyze a management team to better understand what their own workers are thinking about and doing. Boards members often ‘fly without a radar’ and are unsure of what to ask when it comes to human capital given the lack of structured reporting on human capital issues in the workplace; this report offers a map of key topics and questions that can be asked, with relative benchmarking on what is going on so that the requests are grounded in reality and relevance.
CEOs: Many CEOs find that their HR departments are consumed with operational efforts and are not scaling to a strategic level to enable the business. While there may be many reasons for this, this report offers CEOs with data and insights on the topics that matter most to the asset that matters most in the company’s ecosystem. Your workers. The report’s findings can fuel awareness and action from the leadership team on topics of importance to the workforce. It can also help CEOs determine where to invest company resources as it relates to human capital, serving as a guide for the most pressing and critical topics that are on the minds of workers you rely on, and consumers that you exist to serve.
CHROs: Many CHROs find that they are advocating for human capital issues without the adequate resources and buy-in from senior leaders. While there may be many reasons for this, the Pulse of the US workforce is designed to speak to the very audience that CHROs seek to influence. By offering a comprehensive view of what US workers are thinking and experiencing, CHROs can increase awareness and accountability for topics that are so clearly areas for focus for the organization. When asked, “Why would we invest in X” or, “How do you know this is an issue?”, this report offers a conversation starter with data you can rely on, and can be a jumping off point for deeper exploration of your own workforce experiences.
Other C-level executives: Human capital is a topic that is on the mind of every C-level executive. CMOs are often responsible for internal branding and marketing to employees. CROs are always seeking ways to motivate and engage a sales force to do more, try more, sell more. CFOs know that human capital is one of the greatest variable expenses in their financial ecosystem - and having a higher return on their existing investment in talent can yield significant returns with limited cost. COOs are reliant on human capital to be productive, efficient and deliver with high quality. Each of these C-level roles benefit from understanding how the US workforce is thinking, feeling and experiencing the world of work and beyond. C-level leaders no longer need to rely on one functional leader to offer insight on people; nor do they need to be caught off guard by questions from Board members. This report arms executives with information that can be used to influence strategy and drive action for these critical functional groups - and the enterprise as a whole.
Educators - As technical schools, colleges and universities aim to prepare the next generation of workers to enter the workforce, they must adapt their curriculum to meet the pressing needs and demands of the workplace. Faculty and administration will benefit from understanding the trends and experiences of workers so that they can tailor development efforts and support the future leaders of the workforce.
While this data will not be specific to you, it provides a birds-eye view of a workforce that represents you. Mirrored after the Bureau of Labor Statistics composition of the modern US workforce, what you see in this data applies to your workplace reality because your workers and your customers are represented in this report. Leverage the data points, the insights and the stories to align and activate your leadership teams and colleagues to focus on topics that are of relevance to your business and to your people.
Use the content to start a conversation, or spark a debate that enables deeper understanding of your own workforce. Take what you are learning from this report and apply it to your own employee listening processes - whether that is through 1:1s, focus groups, or team surveys.
As an investor, board member or c-level executive, take what you learn and ask questions at the boardroom table that activate a higher order of thinking and understanding of the human experience in a company. Use this as a benchmark to understand what’s happening in the world around you, so that you can deepen your understanding of what is happening in the world you are responsible for.
Please provide your information through (intake form to come)! Our first report will go live in May 2024.
We will be releasing this report on a monthly cadence. While we are open to providing you a particular report for a one-time fee, the real-time and shifting nature of this pulse report is structured on an annual subscription model. Please reach out to hello@idealisadvisory.com for more information.
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