QuestionPunk’s American Worklife Survey, May 2025

Daily Work

To understand the lived experience of American workers, QuestionPunk asked about their daily duties, workplace environments, and client interactions.

When asked about their customers or clients, or people they’re responsible for helping, 68% responded with positive statements, 21% with negative statements, and 11% with neutral statements. Many Americans serve clients or customers or students, but others have roles that only face other internal staff. In their open-ended answers, respondents mentioned retail and customer service, 16%; facing only internal staff, 15%; professional or corporate clients, 11%; healthcare, 9%; education, 7%; scientific and technical clients, 5%; social services and public sector customers, 5%; construction and engineering clients, 4%, hospitality and personal care clients, 3%; and other 26%.

On students: “I’m responsible for helping students, who are my primary focus. They come from diverse backgrounds and have varying needs, abilities, and learning styles. Some are highly motivated, while others may face challenges, but all of them are eager to learn and grow.” - Female from Massachusetts

On stakeholders: “I mostly help the team internally. While I am usually not the front-facing person to reply to customers, I am the person who supplies them with the information required to make the response.” - Female from Washington State

When asked what their average day is like, 32% responded with positive statements, 27% with negative statements and 41% with neutral statements. Responses mentioned customer or client interactions, 31%; unstructured or variable work, 31%; administrative or office work, 18%; team management or supervision, 11%; education or school support 4%; physical or manual work, 2%; remote or tech work, 2%; and creative or marketing work 1%.

An average day: “I slice meat and serve customers rotisserie chickens.” - Male from South Dakota

An average day: “I log on to work, meet my team for daily standup, and then do my work individually. Sometimes, I have other meetings throughout the day, but usually I am coding most of the day.” - Male from Virginia

When asked if it’s a good or poor place to work, 62% responded positively, 10% negatively, and 28% neutral.

A good or bad place to work: “It's a bad place to work for me. The pay is incredibly low and I work with just one other person in my area. I miss having a job with lots of physical interaction with other people. I feel too isolated here.” - Male from Arizona

A good or bad place to work: “It’s a good place where everyone is treated equally. The work colleagues have a good relationship with other coworkers. The organizational culture is excellent.” - Female from Tennessee

When asked to describe their workplace and what the space is like, 56% responded with a neutral answer, 37% positively, and 8% negatively. Respondents described remote or work from home situations, 13%; retail or customer facing, 9%; open office or collaborative spaces, 7%; education, school or campus-based, 6%; medical or clinic settings, 5%; industrial, warehouse or manufacturing, 4%; private offices or cubicles, 4%; general positive descriptions, 8%; general negative descriptions, 4%; chaotic or noisy, 3%; and other, 39%.

On the space: “We are back to an open office. That is honestly quite nice, but I kinda miss my own cubicle.” - Male from California

On the space: “Our space is a huge lab space with multiple lab benches for each scientist or technician. We have a ton of equipment around.” - Female in Oregon

These daily patterns—whether customer-facing or internally focused—form the backbone of respondents’ experiences. But how do they feel about the meaning and rhythm of that work?

Meaningful Workdays

QuestionPunk asked respondents how they feel about getting up in the morning, and whether their day is well spent.

When asked how they feel about getting up in the morning and going to work, 64% responded positively, 31% negatively, and 5% neutral. Responses could be labelled as mixed feelings, 45%; positive and energetic, 42%; positive but neutral, 9%; depends on the day or task, 1%; grateful, 1%; negative but resigned, 1%; and neutral or indifferent, 1%.

On mornings: “The first thing I do when I wake up is check my phone and start working, haha. Even after almost 8 years of this, I still have the same motivation.” - Female from Washington State

On mornings: “I stay fairly tired, but the hard part is just getting up. Once I am up I am usually good and ready to go.” - Female from Minnesota

From morning motivation to evening reflection, workers had a lot to say about how their time is spent. When asked if their day is well spent, 82% responded positively, 14% negatively, and 4% neutral.

On time well spent: “I'd say so. I have breakfast with my wonderful wife in the morning, and after I have a busy day. But time goes by relatively quickly, and my coworkers make work easier.” - Male from Vermont

Beneath these routines lie deeper currents of change. When workers reflect on how their roles have evolved, or what outsiders might not understand, new complexities emerge.

Surprises, Shifts, and the American Workplace

QuestionPunk asked about misperceptions of their jobs. Beyond the daily grind, workers reflected on how their roles—and the broader work landscape—have changed over time.

When asked what would surprise people about their line of work, 36% responded positively, 38% negatively, and 17% neutral. Respondents mentioned workload or hours, 16%; difficult people, 14%; misconceptions about their roles, 9%; emotional investment, 7%; organizational pressures, 5%; surprising simplicity, 4%; lack of resources, 3%; access to information or privacy, 2%; bureaucracy and inefficiency, 2%; or something else, 39%.

On misconceptions: “People are usually surprised by how much of my job isn’t about computers; it’s about people. You can have the best tech in the world, but if you don’t understand how users actually work, you’ll miss the mark.” - Male from California

On misconceptions: “Unless you knew me and the position I hold, you would think that I was just a line worker working in customer service, with no bachelor degree.” - Female from Minnesota

When asked how work is different today from the time they first started, 46% responded with positive comments, 42% with negative comments, and 13% with neutral comments. Responses mentioned technology and digitization, 19%; there being no significant change, 10%; the effects of experience or seniority, 7%; changes in role or responsibility, 7%; the pace or volume of work, 4%; the processes and procedures, 3%; tools and equipment, 2%; remote or hybrid work, 1%; the work environment or culture, 1%; and other or indefinite, 41%.

On what’s different today: “When I started, I was at the bottom of the totem pole. I am now a supervisor of 10 people. It is much more rewarding these days.” - Male from South Dakota

On what’s different today: “It’s less work now. Things have slowed down, so my days are not that productive. It’s so hard passing time at work, because now I’m finishing way ahead of time in all my tasks.” - Female from Florida

When asked what thoughts came to mind about the working world today in America, 34% responded positively, 61% negatively, and 5% neutral. Respondents mentioned technology and automation, 27%; work-life balance and burnout, 12%; economic pressures and inequality, 5%; positive outlook or optimism, 4%; cultural or generational shifts, 3%; work ethic and attitudes, 3%; nostalgia or comparison to the past, 2%; political or policy related views, 2%; or other, 40%.

On the working world: “Very technology focused, new jobs being created all the time. Technology shifting the focus of existing jobs like nurses, teachers, police and others” - Male in California

On the working world: “I'm thinking of people that are working hard, but barely making ends meet.” - Male in Arizona

We closed the interview, as Terkel often did, by asking if anything was left out from our discussion. Fourteen percent (14%) responded positively, 47% negatively, and 39% neutral. Half (50%) said nothing was left out. Respondents mentioned general reflections, 32%; personal life details, 8%; meetings or specific duties, 3%; mental or emotional aspects, 2%; work-life balance, 2%; workplace environment or logistics, 2%; other, 1%.

“Not much to talk about besides parenting responsibilities.” - Female from Wisconsin

In these reflections, a pattern emerges: many workers feel their individual jobs have grown or improved, yet they sense decline or instability in the wider American workplace. Personal satisfaction exists side-by-side with systemic concern.

AI-Assisted Interviewing

As an experimental feature of this study, QuestionPunk incorporated AI-assisted interviewing to deepen the open-ended responses. After respondents answered several initial questions, an AI agent generated a personalized follow-up question based on their earlier replies. These tailored prompts elicited detailed stories about challenges, motivations, workplace changes, and reflections—often surfacing themes that traditional surveys might miss.

The AI-generated follow-ups revealed the same tension found throughout the rest of the survey: pride in meaningful tasks, and concern about how workplace norms are shifting. These questions, tailored to each respondent, elicited both motivation and frustration.

The first AI-written question related to our questions on their job, their clients, and their workspace. Sixty-two percent (62%) responded positively, 21% negatively, and 17% neutral. These questions and answers related to challenging situations or projects, 24%; positive or memorable experiences, 22%; motivation and purpose, 16%; team culture and workflow environment, 7%; work-life balance, 5%; leadership and support strategies, 4%; client or customer interaction, 3%; emotional or mental health at work, 2%; stress management techniques, 1%; and other, 17%.

[To a banker] Can you describe a particularly memorable or impactful experience you've had while helping a client secure a loan? “I had the opportunity to help three pediatric doctors purchase a building in an underserved area. It was a good feeling to help them and the community out.” - Male from Nebraska

What motivates you to stay passionate about your role? “I have a great staff that works for me and the place is very close.” - Female from Nebraska

The second AI-written question related to our questions on how they feel about going to work and whether their day is well spent. Sixty-two (62%) responded positively, 24% negatively, and 15% neutral. These questions and answers related to challenges faced, 15%; projects or specific work moments, 15%; meaningful or reward experiences, 14%; change in outlook or personal growth, 11%; work-life balance and task juggling, 6%; coping or emotion regulation, 3%; typical workday descriptions, 3%; satisfaction or accomplishment, 2%; and other, 31%.

Can you share an example of a time when you had to make a difficult decision for the benefit of your team? “I had a time when I had to terminate a good client because of the way they had been treating the team. I could not allow that behavior.” - Male from New Mexico

Can you describe a specific project or moment at work that made you feel particularly proud or fulfilled? “The client praised the plan for bringing clarity to their long term goals, and it was a moment that brought together all my core skills and left me feeling genuinely proud.” - Female from New York

The third AI-written question related to our questions on change in the workforce and in America today. Forty percent (40%) responded positively, 46% negatively, and 13% neutral. These questions and answers related to challenges at work, 34%; impact of work, 26%; motivation and meaning, 12%; teamwork, 6%; communication, 4%; future of work, 4%; workplace policy and support, 3%; career development, 2%; leadership and management, 2%; technology and tools, 2%; and other, 4%.

Can you describe how changes in workplace culture have affected employee morale and productivity? “They don't take pride in their appearance nor their work. Employees do not care how productive they are these days” - Male from Illinois

Can you describe some of the biggest challenges you face as a manager compared to when you were an individual contributor? “Managing employees isn't an easy task, by this I mean ensuring they pay attention to detail, takes a lot of time and availability.” - Female from New York

Appendix: Survey Questions Inspired by Studs Terkel

• How would you describe your job or profession?
• Do you have people you're responsible for helping, like customers or clients? What are they like?
• What is your average day like?
• On the whole, would you say it's a good place or a poor place to work?
• How do you feel about getting up in the morning and going to work?
• Is your day well spent?
• What's something that would surprise people about your line of work?
• How is the work different today from the time when you first started?
• If I said to you, the working world today in America, what thoughts come to mind?
• We talked about what your day is like. But there's stuff we've left out, haven't we?