ResourcesReportsState of the Work: Southern Central

2026

State of the Work: Southern Central

Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, and Louisiana

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

Southern Central employers and employees agree on more than they disagree on. Including what drives people to leave a job. But the gaps that do exist are significant: employers consistently overestimate engagement, growth clarity, and how many of their people are quietly job hunting. This report gives leaders a clear-eyed look at those blind spots — and what to do about them.

Based on surveys of 92 employers and 57 employees across Southern Central-based SMBs. Data collected June 30–July 2, 2025.

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Satisfaction

Work/Life Balance: Southern Central Employers and Employees Mostly Agree

Employers and employees in the Southern Central region are closely aligned on how many hours get worked each week, and on how satisfied they feel about their work/life balance. One of the few areas in this report where the two groups land almost identically.

87.0

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

87.8

of Southern Central employees report the same, less than a 1-point gap

The hours-worked gap

Employers and employees land close together on how many hours feel right. 67.0% of employers say their team works the right number of hours, and 64.9% of employees say the same about themselves. Only 6.8% of employers think their team is working too many hours, while 8.8% of employees describe their own hours as too many or extremely too many.

Work/Life Balance Satisfaction

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

Item	Very\nSatisfied	Satisfied	Somewhat\nSatisfied	Neither	Somewhat\nDissatisfied	Dissatisfied
Employer	28.3 %	39.1 %	19.6 %	5.4 %	6.5 %	1.1 %
Employee	28.1 %	35.1 %	24.6 %	7.0 %	3.5 %	1.8 %

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Engagement

Employers See High Engagement. The Job Search Numbers Tell a Different Story.

Most Southern Central employers are confident their workforce is engaged, and employees largely agree they’re committed. But that engagement coexists with meaningful job search activity, and employers underestimate how many of their people are looking.

91.4

of Southern Central employers say employees are moderately or extremely engaged

84.2

of employees say the same about themselves

38.2

of employers believe fewer than 10% of their workforce is looking — 26.4% of employees say they’re looking to change jobs within the year

1 in 8 Southern Central employees plans to change jobs within three months.

12.3% plan to move within three months, 26.4% within the year — numbers most employers in the region aren't accounting for.

Employee Engagement Levels

“How engaged are employees at work?”

Item	Not at All\nEngaged	Slightly\nEngaged	Somewhat\nEngaged	Moderately\nEngaged	Extremely\nEngaged
Employer	0 %	0 %	8.7 %	45.7 %	45.7 %
Employee	0 %	5.3 %	10.5 %	33.3 %	50.9 %

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Knowledge

Leadership First, AI Second — Southern Central Workers Are Wired Differently

In most of the country, AI skills dominate the conversation about workforce development. Not here. Southern Central employees rank leadership and managerial skills well above the national average, while AI expertise ranks below it.

59.6

of Southern Central employees say leadership and managerial skills are something they'll need to develop, well above the 47% national average

47.8

of employers say the same about leadership skills for their teams, slightly below the 54% national average

29.8

of Southern Central employees say AI expertise is a skill they need to develop —below the 36% national average

Skills Employees Need to Develop (Next 3+ Years)

“Which skills will be most important to develop?” | Note: Southern Central employees rank leadership skills more than 10 points higher than the national average, and AI expertise lower.

Item	Creative\nSkills	Data\nAnalytics	Leadership /\nMgmt	Upskilling	AI\nExpertise	Reskilling
Employer	60.9 %	47.8 %	47.8 %	46.7 %	42.4 %	38.0 %
Employee	36.8 %	42.1 %	59.6 %	42.1 %	29.8 %	24.6 %

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Empowerment

Both Sides Agree Training Matters Most. Employees Want Mentorship and Ownership Behind It.

Training and development tops the list for both groups. Where employers miss is on what comes next — they outweigh autonomy over personal time management, while employees are more focused on mentorship and ownership of their work.

63.0

of employers say training and development defines an empowered employee experience

54.4

of employees agree training and development tops the list, with mentorship (43.9%) and ownership over work and outcomes (43.9%) close behind

37.0

of employers say autonomy over personal time management is part of an empowered experience, compared to just 19.3% of employees

Why employees leave — and what employers think

Southern Central employers and employees agree the top reason people leave is better pay. But the pattern from the empowerment data shows up here too — employers reach for work/life balance and remote work as retention levers, while employees are more focused on pay and benefits in addition to flexible hours. The gap isn't about pay. It's about employers solving for the wrong things.

What an Empowered Experience Looks Like

“What does empowerment look like at work?”

Item	Training &\nDev	Employee\nInput	Technology\nResources	Info Shared\nFreely	Flex Work\nLocation	Ownership\nOver Work	Mentorship	Autonomy\nPersonal\nTime
Employer	63.0 %	47.8 %	51.1 %	46.7 %	43.5 %	41.3 %	39.1 %	37.0 %
Employee	54.4 %	42.1 %	40.4 %	36.8 %	36.8 %	43.9 %	43.9 %	19.3 %

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Benefits

Core Benefits Are Valued by Both Sides — The Gaps Are in the Details

Employers and employees in the Southern Central region agree on the broad strokes: medical insurance, retirement, and paid time off matter most. Where they diverge is in how intensely each benefit registers — and which ones employees weight higher than employers expect.

44.4

of employers rate retirement plans "Extremely Important" — employees rate it almost identically at 45.6%

42.2

rate mental health coverage "Extremely Important," compared to 45.6% of employees

36.7

rate vision insurance "Extremely Important," compared to 42.1% of employees

Benefit Importance — “Extremely Important” Ratings

“% rating this benefit ‘Extremely Important’ when looking for a job” | Note: Employees rate retirement, mental health, and vision higher than employers expect.

Item	Medical Insurance	Pension & Retirement\n(401(k))	Paid Vacation & Sick\nTime	Life\nInsurance	Dental Insurance
Employer	52.2 %	44.4 %	49.4 %	46.7 %	47.2 %
Employee	42.1 %	45.6 %	52.6 %	36.8 %	40.4 %

Item	Mental Health Coverage	Vision Insurance	Parental\nLeave	Childcare Assistance	Education Reimbursement
Employer	42.2 %	36.7 %	38.9 %	27.8 %	36.7 %
Employee	45.6 %	42.1 %	33.3 %	33.3 %	33.3 %

Where employers overestimate

Employers tend to over-index on medical and dental insurance at the very top tier, while employees spread their answers more evenly across “moderately” and “extremely.” Meanwhile employees place slightly more weight than employers expect on retirement, mental health, and vision. Both groups rank core benefits like medical, retirement, and PTO among the highest priorities overall, so the issue isn't whether benefits matter — it's whether the package matches what employees are prioritizing.

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HR Expectations

Employers Are All In on 24/7 HR. Employees Are Mostly There.

Southern Central employers are strongly behind always-on HR access. Employees are a solid majority, but nearly one in five actively disagrees, which is worth noting.

89.7

of Southern Central employers agree HR should be a 24/7 function

64.9

of Southern Central employees agree — with 19.3% actively disagreeing

HR Should Be a 24/7 Function

“To what extent do you agree: HR should be a 24/7 function” | Combined Agree: 89.7% employers / 64.9% employees.

Item	Strongly\nDisagree	Disagree	Somewhat\nDisagree	Neither	Somewhat\nAgree	Agree	Strongly\nAgree
Employer	1.3 %	0 %	5.1 %	3.8 %	17.9 %	44.9 %	26.9 %
Employee	7.0 %	5.3 %	7.0 %	14.0 %	17.5 %	21.1 %	26.3 %

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AI in HR

Employers Are Ahead on AI Adoption. The Gap With Employees Is About Trust, Not Access.

Southern Central employers use AI at a higher rate than the national employer average, while employee adoption lags well behind. Where both groups align is in administrative, low-stakes HR tasks; where they diverge is in anything that touches empathy, escalation, or accountability.

71.6

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

45.6

of employees use AI at least weekly

24.6

of employees rarely or never use AI at work

AI Frequency of Use

“How frequently do you use AI at work?”

Item	Never	Rarely\n(1-2x/yr)	Occasionally\n(1-2x/mo)	Moderate\n(1-2x/wk)	Great Deal\n(multiple/wk)
Employer	2.5 %	2.5 %	23.5 %	34.6 %	37.0 %
Employee	19.3 %	5.3 %	28.1 %	28.1 %	17.5 %

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\nQuestions	Benefits\nQuestions	Personal HR\nQuestions	Performance\nReviews	Interpersonal\nConcerns	Training &\nDevelopment
Employer	67.9 %	60.5 %	55.5 %	70.4 %	56.8 %	67.9 %
Employee	36.8 %	33.4 %	26.3 %	31.6 %	36.8 %	35.1 %

Download the Southern Central 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 Southern Central State of the Workplace report by TriNet.

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