The Economy is in the Toilet. Is Your Mood There Too?

If you’ve been feeling off lately—sluggish, low-energy, anxious about work or life—it may not just be “you having a bad week.” The economy might be a mess—but more importantly, the quality of our jobs may be dragging our mood, health and whole lives down.

Every month we hear how many people are employed, how much they earn, maybe how many jobs were added. But what we don’t track as closely is how good those jobs are—whether they help someone thrive, rather than just pay the rent. The American Job Quality Study (in collaboration with Gallup) picks up that thread.

Here are some headline findings:

• The study defines five core dimensions of job quality: financial wellbeing (fair pay + stability), workplace culture & safety, voice/control in decisions, growth/opportunity, schedule & flexibility.

• For example: jobs with unpredictable schedules or little control are tied to worse financial, health and life outcomes.

• In short: you can have a job, but still be at risk.

How do we mind the gap?

Many of us are working—but not thriving. We’re clocking in, maybe earning—but we don’t feel safe, respected, in control, able to grow, or financially secure. The study shows that when you do have quality job conditions, you are healthier, more engaged, more resilient. When you don’t—your mood, body, mind suffer.

Think about it like lifting weights or working out. It’s not comfortable. It’s not easy. But over time we see the visible muscle growth, fewer health risks, stronger bones. Change in the workplace—adopting better quality jobs, better practices—is like that. The initial strain is worth it. We are wired for efficiency and pattern. For comfort. For avoiding pain. And growth asks for some discomfort. Healing asks for some transformation.

Here’s how the brain piece works:

• We are wired to avoid pain, to stick to what’s familiar—even if it’s hurting us.

• We are wired to find efficient patterns—so when the pattern is “job = endure, just manage” we keep doing it because it's familiar.

• Change therefore feels risky: unknown pattern, unknown outcome, more neural energy.

• But when we lean into change with awareness—“I may feel discomfort, but the payoff is a stronger self, a healthier life, more resilience”—we shift. We grow. We thrive.

When you thrive, life lights up: your health improves, your relationships deepen, your sense of meaning expands.

In the American Job Quality Study, those with higher job quality report better financial security, fewer conflicts between life and work, more satisfaction. 

In contrast, low job quality = more stress, lower life satisfaction, more body/brain wear and tear.

Thriving isn’t an individual verb. We live in interconnected systems: families, teams, communities, workplaces. When workers thrive, organizations perform better, communities flourish, economies stabilize. When job quality is low, ripple effects spread—higher healthcare cost, lower productivity, less mental wellbeing, more exit/turnover. It’s systemic. It matters.

What happens when you’re financially insecure and your job quality is low?

Stress hormones rise.

Sleep suffers.

Chronic worry takes over.

Your body behaves as if threat is constant.

Your brain stays in survival mode, not growth mode.

Conversely:

When employees feel financially secure and have voice/control at work,

they are healthier,

more engaged,

more productive. (The study found linkages between schedule quality and life satisfaction, for example.) 

You might want to check out The Psychology of Money—which explores how money isn’t just numbers; it’s about mental state, identity, behavior, security.

Along the same lines in the study, having a voice at work is not just “nice to have”—it’s a defining feature of job quality. From the study: control, influence, predictability matter. When you can say no, when you have some decision-making power, when your schedule isn’t entirely imposed on you—the job becomes humanized rather than mechanized. 

The economy might look grim. But what is far more within our control is how we work, what work is like, and how we allow work to shape our lives. You don’t have to settle for job = just a paycheck. You can pursue job = life thriving. As a leader and as a human, you can lean into change—because it’s not just organizational, it’s brain- and body-based. You can choose kindness (to yourself), you can choose to demand respect, you can choose to build a job that works for you rather than you just enduring it.

* For prospective clients: if you struggle to find your voice at work, you may benefit from therapy or coaching: learning how to express boundary, how to speak respectfully yet firmly, how to advocate for your wellbeing without risking your job. Relationship dynamics at work are real. If you’re being treated without respect, or your safety/schedule/growth is undermined—those are red flags.