Deputy Releases Fourth Annual Shift Pulse Report, Finds America's Frontline Workers Are Thriving – Except for the Ones Stuck in the Middle
SAN FRANCISCO – June 30, 2026 – Deputy, the world’s leading workforce management platform for hourly work, today released its fourth annual Shift Pulse Report, revealing new insights into the sentiment, well-being, and experiences of America's frontline workforce.
Drawing from over 731,000 anonymous end-of-shift survey responses collected between May 2025 and April 2026, the report offers one of the largest real-time views into frontline worker sentiment in the United States. The findings show that frontline worker morale remains remarkably resilient despite ongoing economic uncertainty. Nearly 79% of shift workers reported ending their shifts feeling positive, while negative sentiment fell to its lowest level since Deputy began tracking worker sentiment.
Yet beneath those encouraging numbers, a neutral middle ground is emerging as both a warning signal for employers and an opportunity to act. Roughly one in seven workers now reports feeling simply "okay" at the end of a shift, caught between engagement and disengagement. For employers, Shift Pulse offers vital data and an opportunity to intervene to ensure their employees feel supported, appreciated, and set up for success before "okay" becomes checked out entirely.
For the first time, Deputy analyzed worker sentiment by generation and found meaningful differences across age groups. Younger workers reported the highest levels of positive sentiment, while mid-career workers appeared to shoulder a disproportionate share of workplace pressure. Older workers, meanwhile, reported more consistent sentiment patterns over time.
The report also uncovered surprising shifts across industries, including Tobacco, E-cigarette & Marijuana Stores, moving from one of the happiest workplace categories in 2025 to the unhappiest in 2026.
“Resilience has a cost,” said Silvija Martincevic, CEO of Deputy. “The workers holding teams, families, and businesses together are often carrying the heaviest load. Our data shows that pressure is increasingly concentrated among mid-career workers, and that's a challenge employers have more control over than they may realize.”
Key Findings:
- Frontline morale remains strong. Nearly 79% of shift workers ended their shifts feeling positive, while negative sentiment fell to 5.9%, the lowest level recorded in the dataset. At the same time, roughly 1 in 7 workers reported feeling simply "okay," suggesting a growing middle ground between engagement and disengagement.
- Millennials and Gen X are feeling the most pressure. For the first time, Shift Pulse data was segmented by generation, revealing that mid-career workers report the lowest levels of positivity. As many juggle work, caregiving responsibilities, and financial pressures, employers have an opportunity to support this critical segment of the workforce more intentionally.
- Gen Z feels the highs and lows of work more than any other generation. Gen Z ranked among the happiest generations overall, but also reported the highest levels of negative sentiment. The findings suggest younger workers are highly engaged at work, yet more sensitive to workplace challenges and frustrations.
- Worker sentiment varies dramatically by industry. Hospitality and Retail ranked as the happiest major industries, while Healthcare remained the least positive for the second consecutive year. At the sub-sector level, Gambling recorded the highest positive sentiment, while Tobacco, E-cigarette & Marijuana Stores experienced one of the most dramatic reversals in the dataset, moving from one of the happiest categories in 2025 to the unhappiest in 2026.
- Last year’s most unhappy state made a remarkable comeback: North Dakota, which reported the highest negative sentiment in the country a year ago, has rebounded to 78.16% positive, one of the most dramatic year-over-year turnarounds in the dataset. Rhode Island, Alaska, and Hawaii now lead the nation; Arkansas and New Hampshire report the most stress.
Deputy’s Shift Pulse tool captures daily, anonymous feedback from shift workers at the end of every shift, giving employers a real-time signal that annual engagement surveys simply can’t match.
For more information and additional findings, download the full report below.
Shift Pulse Report 2026 · United States.pdf
PDF 2.3 MB
About Deputy
Deputy is the world’s leading workforce management platform, revolutionizing hourly work for over 1.5 million workers and 385,000 workplaces across over 100 countries. For over 15 years, Deputy has helped businesses to effortlessly navigate and comply with complex labor laws while enhancing employee engagement with predictable, transparent and flexible scheduling, and delivering actionable insights to transform labor efficiency into a competitive advantage. Deputy is more than just a solution – it’s a trusted partner in building workplaces that foster productivity, well-being, and growth. Discover how we are improving the world of work, one shift at a time, at www.deputy.com and join the conversation on LinkedIn.
