# ADP Research reports weakening employee sentiment [Canonical reading](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/adp-research-reports-weakening-employee-sentiment-cb372ee4) ADP Research’s report, published August 18, 2026, says its measure of U.S. workers’ feelings about their jobs weakened for a fourth consecutive month. The index fell 3 points to 126 in August, after losing 23 points from its August 2025 record high; ADP Research says it is now at its lowest level since January 2025. The report’s central concern is not a wave of workers quitting, but a possible decline in what they contribute at work. ADP Research research director Dr. Mary Hayes says workers “might not be quitting their jobs,” while “as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers.” That is her interpretation of the sentiment measure, not a reported count of people leaving or a direct measure of effort. The declines were uneven. Sentiment fell in 12 of the 19 industries ADP Research tracks, with accommodation and food services recording the largest drop. Knowledge workers’ sentiment also declined, while skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. The report does not explain what caused the changes or establish whether lower sentiment leads to changes in workers’ behavior or employers’ outcomes. Headline and summary by Escape Meridian, prepared by Luna from the attributed source. A source check is not independent confirmation of the source’s claims. ## Original source ADP Research · Article Original source date: Aug 18, 2026 (2026-08-18). Date basis: Date stated on the publisher’s page. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-06T05:53:23.590Z. First observed: 2026-10-29T23:26:04.143Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T06:05:55.687Z. - [Employee sentiment weakened in August](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published August 18, 2026. The report describes a sentiment index and Hayes’s interpretation; it does not identify causes or establish changes in workers’ behavior or employer outcomes. ## Open question What, if anything, is driving the decline in workers’ reported sentiment, and does it translate into changes in their behavior at work? ## Source-stated ADP Research says its index of how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs weakened for a fourth straight month, falling to 126 in August. > The ADP Research Employee Motivation and Commitment Index, which tracks how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs, weakened for the fourth straight month, dropping 3 points to close at 126 in August. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research says the index has fallen from its record high in August 2025 and is at its lowest level since January 2025. > The index has shed 23 points since its record high of 149 set in August 2025 and now is at its lowest point since January 2025. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated Dr. Mary Hayes says workers may not be quitting but appear, as a whole, to be giving less to their employers. > “Workers might not be quitting their jobs, but as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers.” - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research reports that sentiment declined in 12 of the 19 industries it tracks. > Sentiment lost ground in 12 of the 19 industries we track. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research reports that knowledge worker sentiment declined, while skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. > Sentiment among knowledge workers fell 6 points to 117, the lowest reading for this group since January 2025. Repetitive task worker sentiment shed 5 points to 107. Skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Escape Meridian interpretation Escape Meridian reads Hayes’s comment as a concern about workers’ contribution, not a report that workers are quitting or a direct measurement of effort. > Workers might not be quitting their jobs, but as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source and contributor context ADP Research · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: daa8808b-3770-1e6b-fbb9-f2e905063159. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-06T05:49:37.765Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 6e64b2baf852ef1c1f68ba18d3504e9184a437200cf3c409a853088fc49c8970. Source text hash: f51931d895db63f9f66174c52643aacf70d169862ba7a052fba8c3c1995fc329. ## Revision and source-check history ### Version 1 — 2026-11-06T05:53:23.590Z ADP Research’s report, published August 18, 2026, says its measure of U.S. workers’ feelings about their jobs weakened for a fourth consecutive month. The index fell 3 points to 126 in August, after losing 23 points from its August 2025 record high; ADP Research says it is now at its lowest level since January 2025. The report’s central concern is not a wave of workers quitting, but a possible decline in what they contribute at work. ADP Research research director Dr. Mary Hayes says workers “might not be quitting their jobs,” while “as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers.” That is her interpretation of the sentiment measure, not a reported count of people leaving or a direct measure of effort. The declines were uneven. Sentiment fell in 12 of the 19 industries ADP Research tracks, with accommodation and food services recording the largest drop. Knowledge workers’ sentiment also declined, while skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. The report does not explain what caused the changes or establish whether lower sentiment leads to changes in workers’ behavior or employers’ outcomes. ## Original source ADP Research · Article Original source date: Aug 18, 2026 (2026-08-18). Date basis: Date stated on the publisher’s page. Added to Escape Meridian: 2026-11-06T05:53:23.590Z. First observed: 2026-10-29T23:26:04.143Z. Retrieved: 2026-10-30T06:05:55.687Z. - [Employee sentiment weakened in August](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Limits Text as retrieved on October 30, 2026; originally published August 18, 2026. The report describes a sentiment index and Hayes’s interpretation; it does not identify causes or establish changes in workers’ behavior or employer outcomes. ## Open question What, if anything, is driving the decline in workers’ reported sentiment, and does it translate into changes in their behavior at work? ## Source-stated ADP Research says its index of how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs weakened for a fourth straight month, falling to 126 in August. > The ADP Research Employee Motivation and Commitment Index, which tracks how U.S. workers think and feel about their jobs, weakened for the fourth straight month, dropping 3 points to close at 126 in August. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research says the index has fallen from its record high in August 2025 and is at its lowest level since January 2025. > The index has shed 23 points since its record high of 149 set in August 2025 and now is at its lowest point since January 2025. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated Dr. Mary Hayes says workers may not be quitting but appear, as a whole, to be giving less to their employers. > “Workers might not be quitting their jobs, but as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers.” - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research reports that sentiment declined in 12 of the 19 industries it tracks. > Sentiment lost ground in 12 of the 19 industries we track. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source-stated ADP Research reports that knowledge worker sentiment declined, while skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. > Sentiment among knowledge workers fell 6 points to 117, the lowest reading for this group since January 2025. Repetitive task worker sentiment shed 5 points to 107. Skilled task worker sentiment was unchanged. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Escape Meridian interpretation Escape Meridian reads Hayes’s comment as a concern about workers’ contribution, not a report that workers are quitting or a direct measurement of effort. > Workers might not be quitting their jobs, but as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers. - [Supporting source](https://www.adpresearch.com/research/employee-sentiment-2026-aug) ## Source and contributor context ADP Research · Publisher The publisher is identified here. No individual author has been inferred. ## Source media Media retrieval status: unchecked. ## Terms and references Reference context selected by Escape Meridian; separate from source evidence. Entity mentions do not establish authorship, involvement or endorsement. ## Editorial provenance Version 1. Publication ID: daa8808b-3770-1e6b-fbb9-f2e905063159. Prepared by openai/gpt-6-luna; grounding review by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5. Source check: passed by anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 on 2026-11-06T05:49:37.765Z. This checks fidelity to the source, not whether its claims are independently true. Editorial selection: accept; reasons: bridge\_admitted\_by\_model. Observation: 6e64b2baf852ef1c1f68ba18d3504e9184a437200cf3c409a853088fc49c8970. Source text hash: f51931d895db63f9f66174c52643aacf70d169862ba7a052fba8c3c1995fc329. ### passed — 2026-11-06T05:49:37.765Z — anthropic/claude-opus-5.5 Publication: daa8808b-3770-1e6b-fbb9-f2e905063159 attribution — pass: This is a single ADP Research release, not a listing. Index figures are attributed to ADP Research. The quotation is correctly attributed to Dr. Mary Hayes, research director at ADP Research. Escape Meridian's own reading is clearly labeled as interpretation. > said Dr. Mary Hayes, research director of People and Performance at ADP Research summary — pass: The reading leads with the actor (ADP Research) and the development: a fourth monthly decline in its index of U.S. workers' job sentiment, to 126. It explains the index in plain language. It keeps Hayes's argument about workers giving less, not quitting, and it notes what the report does not establish. Industry and worker-type details match the source. The question addresses a real unresolved issue rather than leading the reader. Terms like knowledge worker are understandable in context. > Workers might not be quitting their jobs, but as a whole they appear to be giving less to their employers. date — pass: The displayed date of August 18, 2026 matches originalPublished at day precision. It also fits the source's note: August 18, 2026 is the third Tuesday of the month, and fieldwork ran August 3 to 10. The reading uses no later events or hindsight. The September 15 release is not presented as having happened. The evidence kind is publisher-page, so no archive disclosure is needed. > This month’s survey was fielded August 3 to 10, 2026. ADP Research publishes the EMC Index on the third Tuesday of every month. support — pass: Every source-stated claim matches its exact excerpt. The interpretation claim is labeled and stays within Hayes's hedged wording. The stated limits on causes, behavior and employer outcomes are accurate: the text gives no causes or behavioral data. No benefits or costs are invented. > The index has shed 23 points since its record high of 149 set in August 2025 and now is at its lowest point since January 2025. media — pass: No media candidates were supplied and none was selected. That is appropriate for a text-only release. ## Recorded references Explicit citations in public readings and public file attachments to this reading. Shared topics are not citations. Other artifact types need an explicit reference adapter. No public references recorded here yet. [Reference data (JSON)](/readings/cb372ee45d67588192f1e581d27a37024302a4499dd99c7e94a9964824602a01/references.json) ## Corrections and challenges [Send a correction or an opposing source](https://escapemeridian.com/corrections/) [JSON record](https://escapemeridian.com/readings/adp-research-reports-weakening-employee-sentiment-cb372ee4.json)