Employees in Low-Quality Jobs Change Employers at Nearly Twice the Rate, Gallup Finds: What the 2026 Job Quality Study Means for Retention Budgets

What Gallup measured

The study surveyed 17,874 US adults aged 18 to 75 who had worked for pay in the previous seven days. Fieldwork ran from January 26 to March 24, 2026, by web and mail, using the Gallup Panel and a separate address-based sample. More than 11,000 people answered in both 2025 and 2026. That panel is what lets Gallup report who actually moved jobs, not only who says they might.

A job counts as “quality” only if it meets a minimum standard on five dimensions. These are financial well-being (fair pay, stable work and benefits), workplace culture and safety, growth and development, agency and voice, and work structure and autonomy. In 2026, 41% of all workers and 40% of employees passed. The rate was 52% for managers and leaders and 36% for individual contributors. By industry it ranged from 57% in professional and business services to 23% in retail and 22% in warehousing. Gen Z employees were at 32%.

Money is part of the picture. Nearly one in three employees (31%) say they are just getting by or finding it difficult to get by, and 27% say they live comfortably. Among employees in quality jobs, 44% live comfortably. Among the rest, only 16% do.

What predicts plans to leave

Gallup modeled which parts of job quality predict an employee's plan to leave within 12 months, controlling for age, education, race and ethnicity, and gender. Overall, employees in non-quality jobs had 3.4 times the odds of planning to leave. Four of the five dimensions mattered on their own:

Respect shows up clearly. Of employees who strongly disagree that they are treated with respect at work, 32% are very likely to leave. Of those who strongly agree, 9% are. One in four employees (25%) report discrimination or unfair treatment, and 22% report bullying, threats or harassment. Among employees mistreated by a supervisor, 27% are very likely to leave, compared with 21% when it comes from coworkers and 19% from customers.

Three questions HR and finance teams will ask

Does a quality job cause people to stay? The study does not prove that. It shows a strong association, and the year-over-year figure counts anyone working for a different employer, whether they quit or were let go. Gallup also says the link between quality jobs and better health is an association, not a proven cause.

What about absence and health costs? In quality jobs, 51% of employees rate their health excellent or very good, against 35% elsewhere. Combining its data with the 2023 Medical Expenditure Panel Survey, Gallup estimates about four missed workdays a year from illness or injury in quality jobs and five in the rest. It also estimates annual private-insurance healthcare spending of about $5,200 versus $6,200, or 16% lower. One note: the report's key findings call that “20% fewer workdays,” while Gallup's study web page says “15% fewer.” We quote both and did not choose between them.

Is recognition one of the five dimensions? Not by name. The study measures pay, benefits, respect, safety, growth, voice and schedules. It does not test reward or recognition programs. Respect from managers and fair treatment, the strongest predictors of leaving, are where recognition practices usually sit. We drew that link ourselves, and the study does not test it.

For wider context, see our employee turnover statistics for 2026 and manager effectiveness statistics, and the case for recognition as a turnover lever. To size a program, use the CFO framework for an employee rewards budget. Rewordin's reward catalog lists gift card brands employees can choose from, and the bulk gift card API sends digital cards to named recipients through a REST API or a CSV upload. If you are planning year-end awards, read our news on what employees say about holiday gifts in 2026.