Despite widespread economic anxiety gripping American households, shift workers are actually feeling better about their jobs than they did a year ago.
A new annual survey from Deputy, a global firm helping small businesses with scheduling, human resources, and affiliated services, shows a measurable uptick in worker positivity across shift-based industries.
Those surveyed showed a 78.9% rate of workers who “reported feeling positive at the end of their shifts,” up nearly half a percentage point from last year.
Meanwhile, workers reporting unhappiness dropped to 5.9%, down from 6.6%, marking the lowest reading in the survey’s four-year history.
The findings stand in sharp contrast to broader consumer sentiment data from groups including the University of Michigan, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, and the Conference Board, all of which point to rising financial anxiety.
“This result comes at a time of significant workforce change,” said Silvija Martincevic, CEO at Deputy.
Martincevic added that “workers at different stages of life report very different experiences at work, making this generational transition an important part of the story behind this year’s results.”
A notable demographic shift is shaping the data, with Gen Z, those born between 1997 and 2012, now making up the largest sector within the shift-based workforce.
Generationally, Alpha workers scored the highest positive rating at 88.88%, with Gen Z coming in second at 78.42%.
When broken down by industry, hospitality led all major categories with an 82.98% positive rating, while retail followed closely at 82.62%.
Healthcare posted the lowest positive rating among the four main categories at 72.89%, the second consecutive year the industry ranked last despite leading the nation in job creation.
At the subsector level, gambling achieved a remarkable 100% positive rating, with casino work emerging as the theoretically happiest place to clock an eight-hour shift.
Rhode Island topped the geographic rankings with a perfect score, a result the survey attributed to “tight labor markets and robust hospitality and tourism industries, both of which perform well on a national scale.”
The popularity of gaming “likely stems from a vibrant customer-facing atmosphere paired with the benefits of tips and collaborative team structures,” according to the survey’s findings.
Other high-performing subsectors included firearms stores at 89.53%, cafes and coffee shops at 89.50%, and accommodation at 84.09%, with cafe workers also leading in “amazing” responses at 72.64%.
Alaska ranked second geographically at 95.35%, with Hawaii third at 92.89%, while the highest negative ratings came from Arkansas at 12.68%, New Hampshire at 12.31%, and the District of Columbia at 11.11%.
The fastest-growing response category was workers who described their jobs simply as “okay,” rising to 15.2% of all respondents surveyed.
“Workplace morale stays high when businesses focus on reliable scheduling, equitable pay, and meaningful appreciation,” the survey concluded, warning that neglecting these needs pushes workers toward neutrality or out of their roles entirely.
