Today, O.C. Tanner, the global authority for strengthening organizational culture through meaningful employee recognition, released its annual 2025 Global Culture Report at the company’s Influence Greatness Virtual Conference. Now in its seventh year, the report challenges business leaders to put care at the center of employee experience strategies and close the gap between employee needs and organizational offerings and benefits, shifting employees from a state of surviving to thriving.
Based on data gathered from more than 38,075 employees, leaders, HR practitioners, and executives across 24 countries, the report highlights the need for a new approach, proposing a Total Rewards framework designed to ensure employees not only survive but thrive at work. The report uncovers whether employees are in “survive” or “thrive” mode by looking at factors such as overall compensation, physical health benefits, and mental health benefits. It then dives into solutions to meet employees’ basic needs while providing emotional and mental health support.
“Caring for employees is a pathway to a thriving, sustainable workplace, and our data showed that belief is something businesses must embrace or risk fracturing their company cultures for good,” said Gary Beckstrand, Vice President of the O.C. Tanner Institute. “This report shows that strategically optimizing Total Rewards by closing the gap between offerings and employee needs and continually reorganizing employees will create workplace cultures where people thrive and do their best work.”
The research highlights several key trends: mental health significantly impacts overall employee wellbeing, emotional intelligence fosters a more caring culture, and job transitions, whether large or small, play a crucial role in shaping the employee experience and must be handled properly. Key findings include:
- Employees are in survival mode: Nearly a third of employees are stuck in “survival mode,” often feeling overwhelmed, anxious, and stretched thin as they focus on simply getting by. This affects workers at all levels, and the key to breaking this cycle is adequate compensation. Those satisfied with their pay are 228% more likely to feel fulfilled. Physical and mental health benefits are also critical, boosting fulfillment by 174% and 259%, respectively, when employees feel supported.
- Employee recognition improves employee mental health: Organizations with strong recognition programs save approximately $8K annually per employee with probable depression.
- Ongoing learning opportunities lead to prospering employees: Employees are 68x more likely to thrive at work when organizations prioritize flexibility, skill building, and career development.
- Mastering emotional intelligence enhances workplace culture: Organizations that practice the 5 key elements of emotional intelligence – practical empathy, self-awareness, nimble resilience, equitable flexibility and communication skills – are 107x more likely to thrive.
- Job transitions are make-or-break cultural moments: Employees with an above-average transition experience in onboarding, promotions or role changes are 457% more likely to feel engaged, 438% more likely to feel fulfilled at work, 237% more likely to feel a sense of belonging, and 251% more likely to plan to stay with the organization for two or more years.
“Employee expectations continue to shift, but one thing has remained clear – people must have basic needs met by their employers before they can be expected to thrive and contribute at full potential,” said Mindi Cox, Chief People and Marketing Officer. “The 2025 Global Culture Report lays the groundwork for businesses to understand the elements employees consider essential to surviving and the generative care that must be at the center of Total Rewards that help people reach a state of thriving. These insights enable leaders to extend specific and strategic care to their people that enables them to better care for others in their lives.”
To learn more about how businesses can effectively tailor their recognition and rewards programs to create a more caring workplace culture and to download the full report, please visit: www.octanner.com/global-culture-report-executive-summary/2025.
About O.C. Tanner
O.C. Tanner is the global leader in software and services that improve workplace culture through meaningful employee recognition experiences. Our Culture Cloud employee recognition platform helps millions of people thrive at work.
Our team of more than 1,500 programmers, researchers, designers, client professionals, and craftspeople hail from 58 countries and speak 62 languages. Together, we create the technology, tools, and awards that help our clients shape productive work environments, drive innovation, and fuel positive business results. Learn more at octanner.com.
Research Methodology
The O.C. Tanner Institute, O.C. Tanner’s research, analytics, and education team, uses multiple research methods to support the Global Culture Report, including interviews, focus groups, cross-sectional surveys, and a longitudinal survey.
Qualitative findings came from 27 focus groups among employees, leaders, and HR practitioners of larger organizations. The focus groups and additional interviews were held throughout 2023 and 2024, each representing various types of employers and industries, and included both private and public entities.
Quantitative findings came from online survey interviews administered to employees across Australia, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, the Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The total sample size was 38,075 at companies with 500+ employees. The O.C. Tanner Institute collected and analyzed all survey data. This sample is sufficient to generate meaningful conclusions about the cultures of organizations in the included countries. However, because the study does not include population data, results are subject to statistical errors customarily associated with sample-based information. All figures, unless otherwise stated, are from the O.C. Tanner Institute.
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