ResourcesReportsState of the Work: The Greater West

2026

State of the Work: The Greater West

Alaska, Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, South Dakota, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming

In the State of Work 2025: Greater West, TriNet surfaces what's really happening inside small and medium-sized businesses across the region — from both sides of the desk.

Greater West employers are broadly optimistic and deeply invested in their workforces. But that optimism consistently runs ahead of what employees report — on hours, satisfaction, engagement, and how ready they feel for what's next. This report maps where the gaps are, and how wide they actually run.

Based on surveys of 107 employers and 52 employees across Greater West-based SMBs. Data collected June 30–July 2, 2025.

Download the Greater West Report

Satisfaction

Employers Think Work/Life Balance Is Fine. Employees Are Less Sure.

Greater West employers are satisfied with work/life balance — and assume their employees are too. The employee data tells a more complicated story.

73.8

of Greater West employers report satisfaction with their work/life balance

50.0

of employees say the same - a 23-point gap

19.2

of employees report some level of dissatisfaction, above the 13% national average

The hours gap runs the same direction.

64.4% of employers believe employees work the right number of hours; 55.8% of employees agree. And when it comes to work/life initiatives, employers report offering flexible hours (50.5%) and workflow management (46.7%) at significantly higher rates than employees say they experience either one (42.3% and 28.8%). The issue isn't that employers don't care about balance - it's that the actions they think they're taking aren't landing the way they expect.

Work/Life Balance Satisfaction

“How satisfied are you with your work/life balance?” | Employer = personal satisfaction. Employee = self-reported.”

Item	Very Dissatisfied	Dissatisfied	Somewhat Dissatisfied	Neither	Somewhat Satisfied	Satisfied	Very Satisfied
Employer	0 %	2 %	6 %	3 %	16 %	38 %	36 %
Employee	4 %	6 %	10 %	10 %	21 %	29 %	21 %

Download Greater West Report

Engagement

Strong Engagement Scores, Real Turnover Risk.

Employers in the Greater West are confident their workforce is engaged — and employees largely confirm it. But beneath those scores, turnover intent is building in ways employers aren't fully tracking.

91.5

of Greater West employers believe employees are moderately or extremely engaged, and 82.6% of employees agree

32.7

of employers think fewer than 10% of their workforce is looking — 31.4% of employees say they plan to switch jobs within the year

Nearly 3 in 10 Greater West employees are open to leaving — even if they're not actively looking.

31.4% plan to switch within the year. Another 29.4% say they're not searching but would leave for the right opportunity. That's a combined 60%+ of employees who aren't fully locked in.

Employee Engagement Levels

"How engaged are employees at work?"

Item	Not at all Engaged	Slightly Engaged	Somewhat Engaged	Moderately Engaged	Extremely Engaged
Employer	0 %	1 %	8 %	44 %	47 %
Employee	2 %	6 %	10 %	29 %	54 %

Download Greater West Report

Knowledge

Employers See a Skills Gap Coming. Employees Aren't As Convinced.

Greater West employers see more urgency across the board than their employees do — and the gap is widest where you might least expect it. Leadership skills, not AI, is where the two groups diverge most.

59.8

of Greater West employers say leadership skills will be critical to develop — only 36.5% of employees agree

42.1

of employers cite data analytics as a top future skill, compared to 26.9% of employees

39.3

of employers flag AI expertise as a development priority, compared to 30.8% of employees

Skills Employees Need to Develop (Next 3+ Years)

“Which skills will be most important to develop?"

Item	Upskilling	Leadership/Mgmt Skills	Creative Skills	Data Analytics	Reskilling	AI Expertise
Employer	51 %	60 %	49 %	42 %	43 %	39 %
Employee	37 %	37 %	50 %	27 %	12 %	31 %

Download Greater West Report

Empowerment

Employees Want a Voice. Employers Are Still Focused on Training.

Greater West employers and employees don't quite mean the same thing by empowerment. Employers lead with training and development; employees put being heard first and by a wide margin.

53.3

of employers say training and development defines an empowered experience — their top answer

55.8

of employees say having their input sought and voices heard defines empowerment — above the 45% national average

43.9

of employers say autonomy over personal time management is part of an empowered experience, compared to 34.6% of employee

Why employees leave — and what employers think

Greater West employers point to pay, benefits, and growth opportunities as the main reasons people leave. Employees agree those matter, but at lower rates across the board — and 23.1% say they left a toxic workplace, compared to just 15.9% of employers who cite it. The risk employers least expect is the one employees feel most.

What an Empowered Experience Looks Like

“What does empowerment look like at work?”

Item	Training & Development	Employee Input Sought/Heard	Flex Work Location	Mentorship Opportunities	Technology Resources	Info Shared Freely	Ownership Over Work & Outcomes	Autonomy Over Time Management
Employer	53 %	50 %	47 %	37 %	45 %	47 %	37 %	44 %
Employee	46 %	56 %	44 %	27 %	40 %	40 %	27 %	35 %

Download Greater West Report

Benefits

Benefits Alignment Is Strong — Retirement Is the Exception.

Greater West employers have a reasonably accurate read on what benefits matter to their employees. The biggest miss is retirement — employees rate it significantly higher than employers expect.

44.2

of Greater West employees rate pension and retirement "Extremely Important" — only 33.0% of employers assume the same

55.8

of employees rate paid vacation and sick time "Extremely Important," compared to 43.3% of employers

46.2

of employees rate vision insurance "Extremely Important," compared to 32.4% of employers

Benefit Importance — "Extremely Important" Ratings

"% rating this benefit 'Extremely Important' when looking for a job"

Item	Medical Insurance	Pension & Retirement (401k)	Paid Vacation/Sick Time	Life Insurance	Dental Insurance
Employer	62 %	33 %	43 %	35 %	34 %
Employee	50 %	44 %	56 %	33 %	44 %

Item	Mental Health Coverage	Vision Insurance	Parental Leave	Childcare Assistance	Education Reimbursement
Employer	37 %	32 %	32 %	31 %	32 %
Employee	38 %	46 %	35 %	27 %	27 %

Where the intensity gap shows up

The core package — medical, PTO, retirement — matters to both groups. But employers consistently land in the "moderately important" tier while employees push toward "extremely important." The gap isn't in which benefits matter; it's in how much they matter. Retirement is where that difference is sharpest, and the most worth addressing.

Download Greater West Report

HR Expectations

Both Sides Want 24/7 HR. The Intensity Differs.

Greater West employers and employees both support always-on HR access — but employers feel it more strongly.

89.1

of Greater West employers agree HR should be a 24/7 function, with 29.7% strongly agreeing

80.7

of employees agree, though only 19.2% strongly agree — and 11.5% actively disagree

HR Should Be a 24/7 Function

“To what extent do you agree: HR should be a 24/7 function" | Combined Agree: 89.1% employers / 80.7% employees.”

Item	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Neither Agree nor Disagree	Somewhat Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
Employer	2 %	0 %	6 %	3 %	17 %	43 %	30 %
Employee	8 %	0 %	4 %	8 %	33 %	29 %	19 %

Download Greater West Report

AI in HR

AI Adoption Is Growing. The Interesting Gap Is Where Employees Are Already Ahead.

Greater West employers use AI at solid rates, and employee adoption is building — though it still lags. Where the data gets interesting is on interpersonal concerns: employees are already using AI for sensitive workplace situations at a higher rate than employers are comfortable with.

65.6

of Greater West employers use AI at work at least weekly

38.5

of employees use AI at least weekly - with 32.7% rarely or never using it

42.3

of employees use AI frequently for interpersonal concerns, despite only 64.5% employer acceptance -the most employee-forward function in the region

AI Frequency of Use

"How frequently do you use AI at work?”

Item	Never	Rarely (1-2x/yr)	Occasionally (1-2x/mo)	Moderate (1-2x/wk)	Great Deal (multiple/wk)
Employer	3 %	9 %	23 %	33 %	32 %
Employee	15 %	17 %	29 %	17 %	21 %

AI Acceptability vs. Employee Usage by HR Function

Employer acceptability = % rating Moderately or Extremely Acceptable. Employee use = % using Almost Every Time or Every Time.

Item	Payroll Questions	Benefits Questions	Personal HR Questions	Interpersonal Concerns	Performance Reviews	Training & Development
Employer	72 %	77 %	69 %	64 %	69 %	75 %
Employee	46 %	42 %	38 %	42 %	44 %	35 %

Download Greater West Report

Interested in a free HR strategy call?

Download the Full Report

Explore workplace trends across AI, employee engagement, remote work, and more in the full Greater West State of Work report by TriNet.

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