Our new Workplace Reality Report uncovers why 42% of professionals lose a full day of productivity every week— and what leaders can do about it.

Based on data from more than 1,000 professionals, Kolbe Corp’s latest research reveals how “misfit work” — tasks that fight people’s natural strengths — drains energy, drives turnover, and costs organizations far more than they realize. The full report delivers data-backed insights and practical steps leaders can use to design more aligned, energized teams.

of workers lose one full workday weekly working against their natural strengths

of employees lack energy for life outside work due to misalignment

of workers actively considering leaving due to strengths misfit

What is the Workplace Reality Report?
The Workplace Reality Report 2025 reveals how misalignment between workers' instinctive strengths and their daily tasks creates a hidden productivity crisis costing organizations one full workday per week per employee. This groundbreaking research from Kolbe Corp analyzes responses from 1,045 professionals who completed the Kolbe A™ Index, examining how conative alignment affects productivity, retention, stress, and energy.

Why did 42% of workers report losing a full day weekly?
According to the survey, 42% of respondents spend more than 25% of their workweek working against their natural instinctive strengths. When forced to operate against their conative nature—how they naturally take action—workers require exponentially more energy to produce the same output, effectively losing productive capacity equivalent to one workday weekly.

How does strengths misalignment affect employee retention?
The research found workers spending more than 25% of their week misaligned are 1.5× more likely to actively consider leaving (57% vs 38% overall). Those who rarely experience "flow" at work are 4× more likely to be job hunting (37% vs 9%). Most critically, task fit (40%) rivals compensation (41%) as a top-two job satisfaction driver.