ResourcesReportsState of Work: Southeast

2026

State of Work: Southeast

Florida · Georgia · Alabama · Mississippi

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

Southeast employers and employees agree on more than they disagree on. But the gaps that do exist are significant: employers consistently overestimate how positive the employee experience is, underestimate turnover risk, and see AI adoption in HR as more settled than employees do. This report gives leaders a clear-eyed look at those blind spots — and what to do about them.

Based on surveys of 111 employers and 80 employees across Southeast-based SMBs. Data collected June 30–July 2, 2025.

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Satisfaction

Work/Life Balance: Southeast Employers Feel It. Employees Less So.

Employers and employees in the Southeast largely agree on how many hours get worked each week — but that alignment breaks down fast when you ask how people feel about it. Employers are more personally satisfied with their own work/life balance, and they underestimate how many employees feel overworked by a significant margin.

of Southeast employers report some level of satisfaction with their work/life balance

of Southeast employees report the same — a 16-point gap

The overwork gap

Employers believe only 28.5% of employees feel they work too many hours. But 41.4% of employees say they do — a 13-point gap. Southeast employees report higher rates of feeling overworked than the national average (41% vs. 32%).

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 %	0.9 %	4.5 %	5.4 %	16.2 %	42.3 %	30.6 %
Employee	2.5 %	5.0 %	5.0 %	15.0 %	23.8 %	27.5 %	21.3 %

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Engagement

Employers See High Engagement. Employees Are More Mixed.

Most Southeast employers are confident their workforce is engaged — 92.6% believe employees are moderately or extremely engaged. Employees mostly agree, but the intensity differs. And when the conversation shifts to connection — to leadership, to the company mission, to their own work — the gaps get larger

92.6

of Southeast employers say employees are moderately or extremely engaged

78.8

of employees say the same about themselves

17.8pts

the gap between employer perception (73.8%) and employee reality (56%) on connection to leadership

Employee Engagement Levels

"How engaged are employees at work?"

Item	Not at all Engaged	Slightly Engaged	Somewhat Engaged	Moderately Engaged	Extremely Engaged
Employer	0 %	2.8 %	4.6 %	45.4 %	47.2 %
Employee	2.5 %	3.8 %	15.0 %	37.5 %	41.3 %

Connection to Company Leadership

"How connected do employees feel to company leadership?" | Moderately + Extremely: 73.8% employers vs. 56% employees.

Item	Not at all Connected	Slightly Connected	Somewhat Connected	Moderately Connected	Extremely Connected
Employer	2.7 %	7.2 %	16.2 %	34.2 %	39.6 %
Employee	7.5 %	10.0 %	26.3 %	31.0 %	25.0 %

One in five Southeast employees plans to change jobs within three months.

Potential turnover risk — including those open to looking — reaches 57.6%. Employers largely believe fewer than 25% of their people are looking.

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Knowledge

AI Skills Are Rising on Both Sides — But a Readiness Gap Remains

Southeast employers and employees both recognize that AI expertise is becoming essential. Employees in this region actually outpace the national average in prioritizing AI skills development (41.3% vs. 36% nationally). But while employers are confident that their people have what they need to succeed today, employees are far less certain — and that confidence gap points to a real risk in future workforce readiness.

of Southeast employers believe employees have the knowledge and skills to succeed (yes or mostly)

77.5

of employees say the same about themselves

41.3

of Southeast employees say AI expertise is a skill they need to develop — above the 36% national average

The growth path disconnect

72% of employers believe employees have room to grow and a clear path forward. Only 52.5% of employees agree. That ~20-point gap shows up consistently — and signals that development investment may not be landing as visible opportunity.

Skills Employees Need to Develop (Next 3+ Years)

"Which skills will be most important to develop? | Note: AI Expertise is the only category where employees rank the need higher than employers do."

Item	Upskilling	Leadership/Mgmt Skills	Creative Skills	Data Analytics	Reskilling	AI Expertise
Employer	57.7 %	53.2 %	53.2 %	52.3 %	42.3 %	34.2 %
Employee	35.0 %	45.0 %	35.0 %	32.5 %	28.7 %	41.3 %

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Empowerment

Employers See an Empowered Workforce. Employees Want More.

Southeast employers and employees find common ground on the basics of empowerment — training, development, and having their voices heard rank at the top for both. But the agreement gets thinner from there. Employers consistently rate empowerment factors higher than employees experience them, and that pattern repeats across feedback, autonomy, and information sharing.

56.8

of employers say training and development defines an empowered employee experience

48.8

of employees agree — and scores drop further across every other factor

of employees say information is shared freely vs. 48.6% of employers who believe it is

Why employees leave — and what employers think

Both groups agree better pay tops the list of departure reasons. But employers over-index on commute (35.1% vs. 17.5% employees) and flexible hours (33.3% vs. 21.3% employees) as exit drivers. Employees are more likely to point to work/life balance, growth, and toxic culture.

What an Empowered Experience Looks Like

"What does empowerment look like at work?"

Item	Training & Development	Employee Input Sought/Heard	Flexibility in Work Location	Information Shared Freely	Ownership Over Work & Outcomes	Technology Resources	Mentorship Opportunities	Autonomy Over Time Management
Employer	56.8 %	50.5 %	50.5 %	48.6 %	47.7 %	45.0 %	44.1 %	43.2 %
Employee	48.8 %	47.5 %	37.5 %	30.0 %	33.8 %	36.3 %	32.5 %	30.0 %

Download the Southeast Report

Benefits

Employees and Employers Align on Core Benefits. They Diverge on Which Ones Come Next

On the benefits that anchor a strong package, retirement, medical, and paid time off, Southeast employers and employees are largely in sync, and on retirement they're nearly identical. Where they part ways is which benefits come next: employees place more value than employers assume on mental health, dental, and childcare, while employers lean harder on benefits employees rank lower. The divergence isn't whether benefits matter; it's which ones employers choose to emphasize. As benefit budgets face scrutiny, knowing where employees actually place value is what separates a package that retains from one that simply exists.

43.1

of employers and 43.8% of employees rate retirement plans (401(k)/pension) extremely important, the closest alignment of any benefit

54.1

of employers rate medical insurance as "Extremely Important" vs. 41.3% of employees

31.3

of Southeast employees rate mental health coverage as "Extremely Important" — below the national employee average of 34%

Benefit Importance — "Extremely Important" Ratings

"% rating this benefit 'Extremely Important' when looking for a job" | Note: Employees rate mental health, vision, and dental higher than employers assume.

Item	Medical Insurance	Pension & Retirement (401k)	Paid Vacation/Sick Time	Life Insurance	Dental Insurance
Employer	54.1 %	43.1 %	43.1 %	41.7 %	34.3 %
Employee	41.3 %	43.8 %	36.3 %	35.0 %	37.5 %

Item	Mental Health Coverage	Vision Insurance	Parental Leave	Childcare Assistance	Education Reimbursement
Employer	25.0 %	28.4 %	28.0 %	22.2 %	20.2 %
Employee	31.3 %	32.5 %	28.7 %	30.0 %	22.5 %

Where employers overestimate

The core of the package lands: employees and employers agree on retirement and rank medical among the highest priorities. The gaps are at the edges. On secondary and lifestyle perks, employers tend to assume employees care more than they do, while employees place more weight than expected on mental health, dental, and childcare. The opportunity isn't spending more on benefits, it's weighting the package toward what Southeast employees actually prioritize.

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HR Expectations

Both Sides Want HR Available Around the Clock — Employers More Strongly

Southeast employers and employees broadly agree: HR shouldn't be a 9-to-5 function. Employer endorsement of always-on HR access is notably high — higher than the national average. Employee agreement is a majority too, though a meaningful portion (16.3%) push back, suggesting the expectation isn't universal.

67.3

of Southeast employers agree or strongly agree HR should be a 24/7 function — above the 57% national employer average

51.3

of Southeast employees agree or strongly agree

of employees strongly agree — signaling the feeling is genuine, not just passive acceptance

Southeast employers lead the nation

At 67.3% combined agreement, Southeast employer endorsement of 24/7 HR access outpaces the national employer average of 57%. The demand for always-available HR infrastructure is strongest in this region.

HR Should Be a 24/7 Function

"To what extent do you agree: HR should be a 24/7 function" | Combined Agree: 67.3% employers / 51.3% employees.

Item	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Somewhat Disagree	Neither Agree nor Disagree	Somewhat Agree	Agree	Strongly Agree
Employer	0 %	1.0 %	2.0 %	8.2 %	21.4 %	40.8 %	26.5 %
Employee	0 %	2.5 %	13.8 %	13.8 %	17.5 %	21.3 %	30.0 %

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AI in HR

Employers Are All In on AI. Employees Are Getting There.

Southeast employers are using AI at work at rates well above the national average — 77.7% use it at least weekly, compared to 66% nationally. Employees are more measured in their adoption, with about a quarter saying they rarely or never use AI at work. Where both groups find alignment is in where AI fits best: transactional HR tasks like payroll and benefits questions show the strongest match between employee usage and employer acceptance.

77.7

of Southeast employers use AI at work at least weekly — above the 66% national average

46.3

of Southeast employees use AI at least weekly

of employees rarely or never use AI at work

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	1.0 %	7.8 %	13.6 %	40.8 %	36.9 %
Employee	13.8 %	12.5 %	26.3 %	30.0 %	16.3 %

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	Training & Development	Payroll Questions	HR-Related Advice	Benefits Questions	Personal HR Questions	Performance Reviews	Interpersonal Concerns
Employer	69.3 %	69.6 %	68.3 %	62.7 %	63.7 %	60.8 %	57.4 %
Employee	40.0 %	42.5 %	40.0 %	38.8 %	33.8 %	37.5 %	40.1 %

Download the Southeast Report

Interested in a free HR strategy call?

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

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