Businesses Feeling Impact of Immigration Crackdown

Businesses Feeling Impact of Immigration Crackdown

One in five business owners surveyed recently say they have lost employees due to deportations, visa denials, or ICE raids in the past 12 months. Nearly seven in 10 (69%) say they have lost customers due to immigration crackdowns.

The survey of 1,047 small-business owners was conducted in February by Clarify Capital. Other key findings from the survey include the following:

  • The average financial cost to replace lost workers — including hiring, training and lost productivity — was $11,908.
  • Agriculture/farming (35%) was the most impacted industry, followed by technology (28%) and hospitality/food service (27%).
  • Some 69% of businesses have raised wages significantly to attract new workers, with one in eight reporting increasing wages by more than 20%. Some 72% of small-business owners have shut down locations, reduced hours, or delayed expansion due to hiring challenges.
  • Nearly half of small-business owners have either relocated (15%) or are considering moving to another state (32%) due to workforce challenges.
  • More than seven in 10 small-business owners (71%) are struggling to find qualified replacements for workers lost due to immigration enforcement. For those who managed to hire new employees, the process took an average of three months.
  • As a result, 86% of small-business owners surveyed report that their staff faced increased workloads or burnout due to labor shortages.
  • To adapt to labor shortages, businesses are hiring gig or freelance workers (33%) or retirees (23%) and increasing automation (21%).

More information about the survey is available here.

Survey Shows Lowest Employee Confidence Since 2016

Employee confidence dropped in February to a record low, according to the latest data from the Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index. The share of employees reporting a positive six-month business outlook fell to 44.4% in February 2025, the lowest level on record since Glassdoor began tracking it in 2016.

The Glassdoor Employee Confidence Index is based on tens of thousands of employee ratings of their employers’ six-month business outlook (rated as “positive,” “neutral” or “negative”) each month. The index is the share of U.S. full-time and part-time employees who report a positive six-month business outlook for their employer.

According to the report, economic anxiety and concerns about job security, layoffs, and those layoffs’ impact on the workforce left behind are weighing on employees. Mentions of layoffs in Glassdoor reviews rose slightly in February, up 0.3% month-over-month, but this takes the level of layoff discussion in Glassdoor reviews to its highest level since July 2020. This measure is also 5% higher than in February 2024.

In reviews that mention layoffs, not only are employees worried about their own job security, but even employees who have survived layoffs are feeling stressed waiting for another layoff to come or overworked as they pick up the additional work on their now less-staffed teams.

Employee confidence was the lowest in the restaurants and food service industry (38.1%) and the government and public administration industry (38.1%). It was the highest in the human resources and staffing industry, with 59% of those employees saying they had a positive six-month attitude for their company.

More information about the survey is available here.

Report Highlights Productivity in the Workplace

Worker productivity has increased 2% over the past three years, despite the length of an average workday decreasing by 36 minutes.

That’s according to the 2025 State of the Workplace: Workforce Trends & Productivity Benchmarks report from the ActivTrak Productivity Lab. The report examines workplace behavior spanning three years of anonymized customer data, including 218,900 employees across 777 companies. The study reflects actual user activity behavior recorded between Jan. 1, 2022, and Dec. 18, 2024.

The report finds 7:55 a.m. to be the average start time for the workday, with an average end time of 4:39 p.m. The report also finds 70% of workers maintain healthy work patterns.

The workplace also saw dramatic growth in AI tool adoption, with 58% of employees using AI tools, up 107%. AI users show consistently longer workdays (+8 minutes), higher collaboration (+17 minutes), and lower focus time (-27 minutes) compared to non-AI users — which the report says could reflect a shift in work patterns as employees juggle increased collaboration with more frequent task-switching across tools and applications.

The report also finds most employees (53%) spend more than 60% of the year working in a remote environment, which yields better productivity: Remote-only workers have the highest productivity (+29 minutes or more) compared to other worker types.

Weekend work continues: 5% of employees work on weekends, up 9% since 2023, with patterns varying by business size.

The report is available here.

Research Suggests Work-From-Home Options Are Here to Stay

New findings by researchers from Stanford University and the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta indicate 12% of organizations with hybrid or fully remote workers plan on a return-to-office (RTO) mandate in the year ahead. Additionally, more than a quarter of the planned RTOs will be hybrid in nature, requiring on-site work only one to four days a week.

More than 1,000 executives from organizations big and small across various industries were polled in the survey, fielded between Feb. 10 and Feb. 21.

The researchers calculate that the planned shifts back to on-site work in the year ahead would reduce the overall share of paid workdays that are work-from-home (WFH) by less than half a percentage point, trimming it from 20.8% to 21.2%.

The researchers note that these small reductions in work-from-home days may never happen, however, because of the struggles firms face when trying to implement RTOs.

Even if the nation falls into a recession or if unemployment rates double, making for a tighter labor market, most executives surveyed said they wouldn’t change their workplace strategies. A downturn in economic conditions would lead to only “a slight decline” in WFH, the survey found.

Taken together, researchers say, the survey findings suggest employers are satisfied with the benefits they are seeing from work-from-home arrangements — reduced floorspace needs, better productivity, and lower quit rates.

More information is available here.

Surveys Highlight Stress Drivers at Work

A trio of separate surveys indicate American workers are increasingly feeling stressed at work, worrying about being laid off, not respected, or working in a toxic workplace.

Clarify Capital surveyed 1,000 workers to see how they feel about layoffs and economic uncertainty. According to the survey, one in three workers has “layoff anxiety” in 2025. The survey finds layoff anxiety is most common among remote workers (47%), more than double that of in-office workers (20%). Nearly one in three workers says they would take a 10-20% pay cut to avoid being laid off. Full survey results may be viewed here.

Meanwhile, only 37% of U.S. employees surveyed by Gallup say they strongly agree that they are treated with respect at work. That ties the lowest level Gallup has seen since it started the survey in 2016. The survey is available here.

In the third survey, iHire’s first Toxic Workplace Trends Report shows nearly 75% of the 1,781 employees surveyed said they have worked for an employer with a toxic workplace. Survey results may be seen here.

When asked what made that workplace toxic, the top response was poor leadership or management, with 78.7% of respondents reporting unethical, unaccountable or unsupportive company leaders. Rounding out the top four responses were poor communication (69.8%), unfair treatment of employees (67.5%), and high stress levels/burnout (65.1%).

When asked to rate their overall work/life balance in their current or most recent job, 43.9% said their balance was “excellent” or “good,” compared to 22.7% who said their balance was “poor” or “very poor.”

AI in Workers’ Compensation: The PBM Perspective
By Ron Carter of RxBridge

For Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), artificial intelligence has the potential to revolutionize workers’ compensation, but its impact hinges on the quality and integration of data. As entities responsible for processing prescription claims and managing pharmacy networks, PBMs are well-positioned to harness AI’s capabilities while also navigating unique challenges in optimizing its benefits.

The potential of AI in pharmacy is undeniable. We’re leveraging AI to analyze prescription patterns, detect potential drug interactions, flag concerning prescribing behaviors, and enhance medication therapy management. However, the effectiveness of these capabilities is only as strong as the data that powers them. While PBMs have access to vast prescription data, we often lack complete medical histories or treatment plans, which can limit AI’s ability to provide fully informed recommendations. For example, without a comprehensive understanding of a worker’s injury and concurrent treatments, AI may overlook critical context that could impact medication management decisions.

Despite these limitations, we are successfully leveraging AI in key areas. Drug utilization review has become more advanced, with AI analyzing prescription patterns across large populations to detect potential opioid misuse, hazardous drug interactions, and opportunities for generic substitutions. These systems process thousands of prescriptions in real time, applying intricate clinical rules and identifying cases that require pharmacist intervention.

Clinical intervention programs have become more targeted through AI-driven predictive analytics. By analyzing prescription patterns, AI can identify injured workers who might benefit from clinical intervention or those at risk of developing medication-related complications. This proactive approach helps prevent adverse outcomes and reduces costs associated with inappropriate medication use.

The future potential for AI in the PBM space is significant, particularly as data integration improves. Enhanced connectivity with claims systems and better information sharing between stakeholders will enable more sophisticated AI applications. The integration of real-time prescription monitoring data with claims information could provide even more powerful insights.

Success in AI implementation depends on building robust data infrastructure and establishing effective information-sharing partnerships with other stakeholders in the workers’ compensation system. The key lies in understanding AI’s role as a decision support tool rather than a replacement for clinical judgment. When combined with professional expertise, AI can help PBMs better serve injured workers while managing costs effectively.

Looking ahead, AI’s potential in the PBM space is substantial, particularly as data integration continues to improve. Enhanced connectivity with claims systems and better information-sharing among stakeholders will pave the way for more sophisticated AI applications. The integration of real-time prescription monitoring with claims data could unlock even deeper insights, further optimizing medication management.

Successful AI implementation requires a strong data infrastructure and effective collaboration with key stakeholders in the workers’ compensation system. The true value of AI lies in its role as a decision-support tool rather than a replacement for clinical judgment. When combined with professional expertise, AI can help PBMs enhance care for injured workers while managing costs more effectively.

As the workers’ compensation industry continues to evolve, PBMs that effectively leverage AI while addressing data quality challenges will be best positioned to improve outcomes for injured workers while maintaining cost efficiency. The future of AI in pharmacy benefit management depends not just on technological advancement, but on the industry’s ability to create comprehensive, integrated data ecosystems that support truly informed decision-making.

Employees Express Opinions on Feeling Safe at Work

More than half (56%) of employees surveyed do not feel comfortably safe at work, according to a recent survey. Additionally, only 63% of employees believe their employer considers their safety a top priority, compared to 75% who think their employer prioritizes company reputation.

Those findings are in the 2025 Employee Safety Report: Closing the Workplace Safety Gap survey from AlertMedia. The report surveyed more than 2,000 full-time U.S. and 1,000 full-time U.K. employees in November 2024.

Nearly all employees (96%) report that being physically safe at work is important to them, with 77% ranking it as extremely important. Significantly more respondents prioritized safety than those who consider their company’s reputation (55%) and bottom line (41%) extremely important.

According to the survey, 81% of employees have personally experienced an emergency or safety incident at work, yet 35% say they feel unprepared to navigate these events. Poor communication (39%) and lack of timely updates (56%) contribute to employees feeling unsafe.

Top emergencies U.S. respondents say they experienced include the following:

  • Severe weather, 52%
  • Technology disruption, 51%
  • Workplace violence, 18%

The survey found employees generally feel encouraged to report safety issues to their employer, but 39% of employees who reported safety issues say they subsequently experienced retaliation, making them hesitant to speak up.

Almost all employees (95%) consider mental health important, yet 15% believe their employer ignores it altogether.

The survey is available for download here.

Survey Shows Worker Attitudes on Advancing in the Workplace

Just 17% of workers participating in a new survey said they think their employers are invested in helping them with skills needed to advance in their careers. Additionally, three-fourths of workers leave their positions without ever having been promoted, according to the survey from ADP.

Women were less likely than men to say they have the skills necessary to advance in their careers within the next three years or that their employer invests in the skills they need to advance in the future.

The results are contained in the first study in ADP Research’s “People at Work 2025” report series.

Other key findings include:

  • The opportunity to get ahead is important, and not just for workers. When workers globally were asked to provide the top reasons why they would stay with their employer, the opportunity for career advancement was second only to flexibility in scheduling.
  • Workers who feel strongly that their employer is providing the training they need are nearly six times more likely to recommend their company as a great place to work.
  • These same workers are also 3.3 times more likely to describe themselves as highly productive and twice as likely to say they have no intent to leave their organization compared to workers who have the skills but lack on-the-job training opportunities.

ADP surveyed nearly 38,000 working adults in 34 markets across six continents. Respondents came from a variety of industries, educational backgrounds, on-site and remote work environments, and skill sets and represent a range of management and individual contributor roles, working for employers of all sizes.

Information on downloading the series is available here.

Research Explores Workers’ Efforts to Increase Efficiency

More than two-thirds of employees (68%) say much of their time is spent on low-value, inefficient tasks, according to a new survey. Nearly eight of 10 employees (78%) say they regularly exchange ideas with colleagues on how to do their work more efficiently, but organizations often aren’t leveraging employee ideas.

These findings are detailed in a new report from Eagle Hill Consulting called Are Employee Ideas the Hidden Key to Operational Efficiency? According to the paper, most employees want to improve efficiency. Some 66% have shared their ideas with their organization but don’t feel their organization knows how to solicit their advice. More than half of workers (56%) say their organization doesn’t incent them to find ways to be more efficient and 41% say that their organization rarely or never seeks their ideas to make improvements.

In other findings, 63% of employees say their organization lacks a clear process to submit ideas for improvement, with 23% reporting their organization has no process. Employees at organizations with a clearly defined process for sharing ideas are about two times more likely to also report that their organization is effective at improving productivity.

Nearly four in 10 employees (38%) say it’s unlikely their efficiency will be implemented, while 42% don’t feel empowered to implement changes based on their ideas. Most workers (83%) say their organization struggles to generate ideas for change. Nearly half of employees (48%) find it difficult to put ideas into practice, and 39% say it is difficult getting changes approved.

The survey was conducted by Ipsos from January 16-22, 2025, and included 1,375 respondents from a random sample of employees across the United States. More information is available here.

Team Building Least Liked Among Workplace Activities

Almost one-third (31%) of employees say they dislike work team-building activities, according to a new survey conducted by Acas.

Acas is a leading authority on workplace relations and dispute resolution in Great Britain that provides impartial advice to employers and employees on workplace rights, rules and best practices.

Among employees surveyed, team building was the most disliked work-related social activity or engagement. One-fifth (20%) said they disliked after-hours drinks, with 19% disliking any social activity with colleagues.

Other least-favored activities named in the survey were:

  • Work social clubs or networks – 15%
  • Group discussions or meetings – 17%
  • One-off special celebrations (for example, birthdays, Christmas or leaving parties) – 12%

One in four employees (26%), however, says they like all work-related social activities or engagements with colleagues.

Acas noted that work social activities can be a good way for employers to improve staff morale, well-being, and rapport among colleagues. It suggests that employers talk to their employees about creating more engaging activities by asking what appeals to them most from a range of suitable options.

Ensuring that team-building activities take place within normal hours will protect personal time and avoid excluding staff with parental and caring responsibilities.

More information about the survey is available here.

State News

ABC 3340
Alabama Lawmakers Weigh Providing Workers’ Compensation to Public Education Employees
House Ways and Means Education committee members are expected to take up a bill providing workers’ compensation insurance to public education employees when they return from break. Click here for full article.

Alabama Reflector
Bill Giving Workers’ Compensation to Education Employees Stalled in Alabama House Committee
A bill to extend workers’ compensation benefits to public education employees stalled in an Alabama House committee last week. Click here for full article.

Alabama Daily News
Education Workers Comp Bill Stalled as Lawmakers Debate Urgency
House Ways and Mean Education Committee Chairman Danny Garrett, R-Trussville, delayed a vote on a bill that would give educators workers’ compensation benefits despite objections from House Democratic lawmakers. Click here for full article.

12 News
Arizona Supreme Court Issues Ruling in Case of Sick Firefighter Seeking Workers Comp
The Arizona Supreme Court has ruled a new law making it easier for firefighters to prove their profession caused an illness won’t apply to an Arizona firefighter diagnosed with brain cancer in 2020. Click here for full article.

The Sum & Substance
Labor Advocates Seek to Scrap Workers’ Compensation Doctor-choice limits
Unions and labor advocates want to expand the number of doctors that injured workers can choose from for treatment — from the four they now are offered by employers to some 1,200 who are certified as workers-compensation care providers by the state of Colorado. Click here for full article.

Risk & Insurance
Court Affirms Administrative Law Judges’ Discretion in Workers’ Compensation Cases
In a significant ruling for Connecticut’s workers’ compensation system, the state Supreme Court has determined that administrative law judges have the discretion to award ongoing temporary partial incapacity benefits to injured workers even after they’ve reached maximum medical improvement. Click here for full article.

CBIA
Court Decisions Prompt Workers’ Compensation Fix
Connecticut State lawmakers are reviewing legislation prohibiting retirees from seeking workers’ compensation benefits for post-retirement injuries. Click here for full article.

CBIA
Committee Approves Workers’ Compensation Expansion
The Connecticut legislature’s Labor and Public Employees Committee approved a bill March 13 expanding workers’ compensation benefits to cover post-traumatic stress injuries for workers who witness a serious bodily injury. Click here for full article.

Business Insurance
Louisiana to Consider Comp Medical Fee Schedule Again
Louisiana lawmakers are considering a medical fee schedule for workers compensation, following several unsuccessful attempts in recent years. Click here for full article.

Maine Public
Maine Bureau of Insurance Approves Proposal that Will Lower Workers Comp Premiums for Most Employers
The Maine Bureau of Insurance has approved an average 9.6% decrease in workers’ compensation loss costs. Click here for full article.

Business Insurance
New Mexico Governor Approves Comp Attorneys Fee Increase
Attorneys representing injured workers in New Mexico will receive more compensation in June after the governor signed a bill increasing fees by more than 33%. Click here for full article.

Lehigh Valley Business
Pa. Businesses Look for Lower Premiums with Loss-costs Filing
Pennsylvania businesses may be gaining lower premiums. The Shapiro Administration approved Wednesday filing with 8.67% reduction in workers’ compensation insurance costs for Pennsylvania businesses. This year’s filing could result in lower premiums. Click here for full article.

General News

ABC News
What We Still Don’t Know About COVID 5 Years After the WHO Declared a Pandemic
Five years ago, the World Health Organization declared the COVID-19 outbreak to be a pandemic, leading to stay at-home orders and shutdowns across the U.S. and world. Click here for full article.

Yahoo! Finance
Conning Releases 2025 Workers’ Comp Study: Using Data & AI to Fight Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud
A new report from Conning, 2025 Workers’ Comp Study: Using Data & AI to Fight Workers’ Compensation Insurance Fraud, provides an in-depth analysis of the evolving landscape of workers’ compensation insurance fraud. Click here for full article.

Risk & Insurance
The AI Balancing Act: Navigating Innovation in Workers’ Compensation
In the rapidly evolving landscape of workers’ compensation, artificial intelligence emerges as both a powerful ally and a potential pitfall. Click here for full article.

AJMC
COVID-19 Vaccine Politicization Fueled Hesitancy, Impacted Vulnerable Groups
The politicization of COVID-19 vaccines has deepened distrust in public health, fueling hesitancy1 that disproportionately affects vulnerable communities. Click here for full article.

American Progress
COVID-19’s Impact on Gun Violence in America
March 11, 2025, marks five years since the World Health Organization declared COVID-19 a pandemic. What followed in 2020 was a story that all Americans are much too familiar with. Click here for full article.

Hematology Advisor
Patients Hospitalized With COVID-19 Face Higher Long-Term Risk for Death, Rehospitalization
Individuals previously hospitalized for COVID-19 have an increased risk for subsequent death or hospitalization for various organ disorders up to 30 months after discharge, according to a study published online Feb. 28 in Infectious Diseases. Click here for full article.

Insurance Business
The Uphill Battle for Small Business Workers’ Comp: Why Affordability and Fraud are Top Concerns
For small businesses, securing affordable workers’ compensation coverage has always been an uphill battle—especially in high-risk industries. Click here for full article.

KFF
COVID Vaccine Concerns and Claims About Ivermectin as Cancer Treatment
Concerns over COVID vaccine injury are growing as some call for the banning of mRNA vaccines in their state. Click here for full article.

NPR
COVID Is still Evolving and will Find New Ways to Evade Immune Systems, Scientists Say
When the virus that caused the COVID-19 pandemic first emerged, many scientists thought it would evolve slowly, like other coronaviruses. Click here for full article.

Pew Research Center
Almost Half of Americans Say People Have Gotten Ruder Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
Five years after the coronavirus outbreak, many Americans say public behavior in the United States has changed for the worse, according to a recent Pew Research Center survey. Click here for full article.

The Washington Post
Five Years Since the Pandemic Began, COVID May Now be Endemic, Experts Say
The pandemic may be over, but the endemic disease is still a threat, especially for older adults and those with certain risk factors. Click here for full article.

Waste Dive
Three Ways to Refresh Workplace Safety Initiatives
Finding new ways to keep waste and recycling operations safe is a longtime challenge for even veteran operators, but a little creative thinking can transform safety programs, said speakers at the virtual Waste Advantage Safety Summit on Thursday. Click here for full article.

WorkersCompensation.com
Subway Worker Shot over Order Error
New details are emerging after a 15-year-old Subway employee was shot over a messed-up order earlier this month. Click here for full article.