Nearly 7 in 10 Workers Say Their Skills Are Underutilized at Work

A new national survey from Resume Now reveals that the majority of employees feel underutilized at work, with serious implications for engagement, career growth, and retention.

According to Resume Now's Untapped Talent Report, 69% of workers report that their skills and abilities are not fully leveraged in their current roles, and 77% say being underutilized has slowed their career progression.

Key Findings

• Underutilization is widespread. 69% of employees say their skills and abilities are not fully used at work.
• Work lacks challenge for most. 87% find their day-to-day work only moderately challenging or less.
• Recognition falls short. 65% say their organization shows limited recognition or alignment with their skills, interests, and passions.
• Strengths are acknowledged but not activated. 62% report their unique strengths are underutilized at least sometimes, even when recognized.
• Underutilization fuels turnover. 72% say they would likely look for a new job if they felt consistently underutilized.
• Retention is at risk. 67% would consider leaving their company within a year if underutilization continued.
• Leadership blind spots persist. 38% say leadership fails to notice underutilization, including 11% who say leadership does not notice or care.
• Career momentum is suffering. 77% say being underutilized has slowed their career progression in some capacity.

Most Employees Say Their Skills Are Not Fully Used

Survey results show a clear disconnect between what employees are capable of contributing and what their roles actually demand of them.

• 13% feel deeply underchallenged and disengaged all the time.
• 28% often feel they could be contributing much more.
• 28% feel underutilized occasionally.
• Only 31% say they rarely or never feel underutilized.

Daily Work Leaves Many Employees Bored or Understretched

For most workers, daily tasks fail to provide enough challenge to fully engage their skills or sustain long-term motivation:

• 13% find their work extremely challenging.
• 58% say it is moderately challenging.
• 24% say it is barely challenging.
• 5% say it is not challenging at all and that they're bored.

Skill Recognition & Role Alignment Often Fall Short

Many employees say their organizations have only a surface-level understanding of their skills, resulting in roles that fail to fully reflect what they do best:

• 36% say their organization shows little to no recognition of their skills (9% no recognition, 27% limited awareness with little action).
• 29% say their skills are only somewhat aligned with their day-to-day work.
• Just 24% say their role closely matches what they do best.

Recognized Strengths Rarely Translate Into Real Influence

Even when employees feel seen for their strengths, those abilities are rarely activated in ways that shape meaningful work or drive new initiatives:

• 62% say their strengths are acknowledged but not central to their work.
• 38% say they are encouraged to use their strengths in meaningful ways.
• Only 9% say their unique strengths directly shape projects or initiatives.

The following is a visual representation of the data above:

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Underutilization Is Driving Turnover

Persistent underutilization is not just a morale issue, but a major catalyst pushing employees to consider leaving:

• 26% would be very likely to look for a new job if underutilization continued.
• 46% would be likely to look for a new job.
• 22% would be unlikely to look for a new job.
• 6% would be very unlikely to look for a new job.

Underutilization Dramatically Shortens Employee Tenure

When employees feel their skills are consistently underused, most do not envision staying long-term, and many anticipate leaving within months:

• 67% say they would leave their employer within a year if underutilization continued.
• Nearly half (46%) say they would leave within 6 months, including 17% who would exit in under 3 months.
• Just 34% say they would stay longer than a year.

The following is a visual representation of the data above:

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Most Employees Say Leadership Fails to Act

While some leaders recognize when employees are underused, most fail to respond in ways that meaningfully address the problem:

• 80% of employees say leadership either does not notice underutilization or notices but rarely takes action.
• Just 21% say leadership recognizes underutilization and addresses it quickly.
• More than 1 in 3 (38%) say leadership does not notice underutilization at all, including 11% who say leadership does not notice or care.

Career Growth Is Being Impacted

Over time, feeling underutilized compounds into slower skill development, fewer opportunities, and stalled career progress:

• 17% say underutilization has significantly slowed their career progression and held them back in major ways.
• 32% say it has moderately delayed their growth.
• 28% say it has had a slight impact.
• 23% say their career progression hasn't been affected.

Methodology

The findings in this report are based on a survey of 1,018 U.S. adults conducted in November 2025. Participants responded to questions about skill utilization, job challenge, leadership awareness, career progression, and job search behavior using multiple-choice and scaled formats.

Demographic breakdown: Survey respondents reflected a broad cross-section of the workforce. Participants were 58% female and 41% male. Generational representation was evenly distributed, with 14% identifying as Gen Z, 30% as millennials, 31% as Gen X, and 25% as baby boomers.

About Resume Now 

Resume Now is a powerful resource dedicated to helping job-seekers achieve their potential. Resume Now's AI Resume Builder is a cutting-edge tool that makes creating a resume fast, easy, and painless. Resume Now has been dedicated to serving job seekers since 2005. Alongside its powerful AI Resume Builder and stylish ready-to-use templates, it also features free advice for job seekers at every career stage, guides for every step of the hiring process, and free resources for writing cover letters. Resume Now is committed to supporting job seekers and workers alike and has conducted numerous surveys related to the experience, trends, and culture of the workplace. These surveys have been featured in Business Insider, CNBC, Fast Company, Yahoo!, Forbes, and more. Keep up with Resume Now on LinkedIn, Facebook, X, and Pinterest.

For press inquiries, contact Alexa Kalechofsky at alexa.kalechofsky@bold.com.

Keith Spencer, CPRW

Career Expert

Keith is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and trusted media source in the career industry with over a decade of experience helping job seekers stand out.

Read more articles by Keith Spencer, CPRW