Workers Remain Confident in Their Skills Amid Economic Uncertainty

Despite the stagnant job market and looming threat of AI potentially replacing them, a significant majority of US workers report high confidence in their skills, making them competitive in the job market.

According to the Global Employee Monitor, a report published by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM), roughly 7 in 10 workers believe their skills would be valuable in roles at other organizations and would make them competitive in the job market.

This confidence is not limited to their current job security. More than 8 in 10 US workers claim they ‘adapt effectively to changes in priorities, processes, or work environments, and that the quality of their work exceeds expectations.’

James Atkinson, vice president of thought leadership at SHRM, stated that workers are ‘quite confident in their capabilities despite technological changes and the economic uncertainty that’s been permeating.’ They are focused on the things they can control and are optimistic about their own abilities.

The SHRM survey, which involved 10,789 workers across 26 countries from January to June, found that workers are increasingly trusting their own skills to create job security. Nearly 7 in 10 US workers said they’re more inclined to stay at their jobs than leave, but that hasn’t stopped them from seeing what’s out there. In fact, 4 in 10 said they have actively searched for a new job in the past 12 months, and 30% said they’ve seriously considered quitting their jobs.

However, workers are actively investing in new skills and adapting to change, according to Atkinson. ‘They’re seeing the changes that are coming, and they’re working to figure out how to prepare themselves for that.’

Dan Schawbel, a workplace trends expert and managing partner of Workplace Intelligence, added that workers are making a distinction about AI coming for jobs that most headlines miss. ‘They’re not confident their current job is safe; they’re confident their skills are portable.’ This shift toward skills as the asset rather than the job is exactly the mindset that holds up best in downturns.

The SHRM survey found that nearly 9 in 10 workers agreed they have effectively adjusted to changes in their work and have worked to build or improve the skills needed to navigate future shifts. ‘We’ve spent years treating adaptability as some rare, prized trait, and now it looks like most of the workforce has just absorbed it as table stakes,’ Schawbel said.

Optimism prevails among workers, with more than 8 in 10 reporting feeling at least somewhat optimistic. Nearly 6 in 10 described themselves as optimistic or very optimistic, compared with 17% who expressed some level of pessimism.

Despite economic uncertainty, workers are focusing on what they can control and are optimistic about their own abilities. They are trusting their own skills to create job security and are actively investing in new skills and adapting to change.