Federal Policy Shifts Disrupt Daily Work for Half of U.S. Workers, New Brightmine Research Reveals

The wave of executive orders (EO) and federal regulations issued by the Trump administration are having a significant impact on the daily lives of American workers.

New research released today by Brightmine, a leading global HR and data insights provider, reveals U.S. workers are facing growing uncertainty about how new policies – like stricter immigration enforcement and the rollback of diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives – will affect their workplace, sense of job security, alignment to organizational values and overall job satisfaction.

Informed by a commissioned survey of 2,000 U.S. adults, including 1,188 employed Americans, the new research commissioned by Brightmine examines how U.S. workers are responding to Trump-era policy changes, including how the legal developments are influencing their daily work, shaping their career outlook and redefining their expectations of employers.

Significant findings from the Brightmine survey include:

• The workplace is in an ‘uncertainty spiral’: Nearly half (49%) of U.S. workers say recent policy changes have impacted their work. One in 10 workers say their role has been eliminated or may be at risk of being eliminated as a result of recent workplace policy shifts, while 1 in 7 say they have been distracted and unable to focus on their work.

• Immigration policies have workers on edge: 3 in 5 U.S. workers are concerned about how workplace raids might affect them, with just 26% expressing confidence that their employer will address compliance and raid-related issues transparently and proactively. Young Americans are especially fearful of this, with 22% of Gen Z and 27% of Millennials viewing immigration policy shifts as the most stressful policy change to navigate, compared to 11% of Gen X and 5% of Baby Boomers.

• Employees choose DEI action over optics: Nearly one-fifth of U.S. workers would actively look for another job if their employer reduced its DEI investment. This is especially true for young workers and those from underrepresented groups. Approximately 30% of Gen Z and 25% of Millennials would job hunt if their employer slashed DEI-related initiatives, and the same was reported for a considerable share of American Indian (39%), Pacific Islander (30%) and African American (27%) respondents.

• Workers are choosing job stability over all else – at least for now: Almost two-thirds (64%) of employed Americans plan to remain in their current roles amid economic and financial uncertainty. Of those choosing to ‘shelter-in-job’, 21% will do so regardless of any policy changes their employer makes.

“The recent federal policy shifts deeply impact the day-to-day experience for millions of U.S. workers. While many employees aren’t actively leaving their roles in response to heightened uncertainty, they’re closely watching how their employer responds and their impressions will inevitably shape career decisions, now and, in the future,” said Amanda Czepiel, Head of Content, at Brightmine. “This is a defining moment for organizations. HR and business leaders must acknowledge the lasting impact of these policy shifts on employee trust, productivity, engagement and retention. The most successful companies will be those that prioritize legal compliance without losing sight of the human impact. Lead with empathy, transparency and ethics every step of the way, and set clear boundaries about keeping politics out of the workplace to preserve a respectful, inclusive and high-performing workplace.”

The full research on how Trump’s policies are redefining workplace dynamics, can be found on the Brightmine website. For more information from Brightmine’s in-house subject matter experts on the key employment law changes to track, visit Employment law: The Trump administration's first 100 days.

About Brightmine

With more than 10,000 customers, Brightmine is a leading, global provider of people data, analytics and insight – empowering HR leaders to deliver brighter business outcomes. For more than two decades, Brightmine (formerly XpertHR) has helped HR leaders confidently navigate the evolving world of work. Through a unique combination of critical people data, AI-enabled technology and trusted HR expertise, the Brightmine product suite transforms how organizations use data, analytics and insight to reduce risk, improve talent strategies and increase HR impact.

Brightmine is a part of LexisNexis® Risk Solutions, a RELX (NYSE: RELX) business, which provides information-based analytics and decision tools for professional and business customers. RELX serves customers in more than 180 countries and has offices in about 40 countries and employs more than 36,000 people worldwide.

To learn more, visit brightmine.com.

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