Workplace Reality Index: what work is like, reported by the people doing it
The Workplace Reality Index is the aggregate of ten free tools on this site that ask people about their working lives as they experience them: the boss they have, whether they should quit, why they are not being promoted, whether to become a manager, whether they are being micromanaged, whether the problem is them, whether the workplace is the problem, how exposed their tasks are to AI, what keeps them in a job, and what the signals around their job are saying.
It exists to measure one gap nobody owns. People describe their managers one way, researchers who count behaviour find something smaller, and managers rate themselves as the exception. Every instrument here reports the cut for respondents who manage people alongside the cut for those who do not, so the two sides of that gap can be read on one page.
Current edition
Collection started on 2026-09-23. No figure is published yet: every cut is below the floor of 30. The rolling 90 day figures refresh on the 12th of each month, next on 2026-10-12, and the quarterly edition of record follows on the 5th of January, April, July and October.
What each instrument will report
| Instrument | Completions | The line it is built to answer |
|---|---|---|
| Boss Pattern Test: what kind of boss do you have | below 30 | Of N people who scored their boss on twelve behaviours, the share reporting each pattern, split by whether they manage people themselves. |
| Should I Quit My Job Quiz: the work, the boss, the deal or the mirror | below 30 | Of N people asking whether to quit, the share whose question is driven by the work, the boss, the deal or the mirror, split by whether they manage people. |
| Promotion Block Finder: why am I not getting promoted | below 30 | Of N people who feel stuck, the share whose block is evidence, sponsorship, scope or visibility, and the share with no career conversation in 90 days. |
| Should I Become a Manager: a 12 question fit test | below 30 | Of N people considering a management role, the share who want the work of managing and the share for whom the title is the pull. |
| Micromanaged or Managed: the micromanaging boss test | below 30 | Of N people who scored how closely they are managed, the share who report close checking with no stated reason and no end date, split by whether they manage people themselves. |
| Am I the Problem at Work: the common denominator test | below 30 | Of N people who asked whether they are the problem at work, the share given each reading, and how much higher or lower they guessed two colleagues would score them, split by whether they manage people. |
| Toxic Workplace Test: the place, the boss or the week | below 30 | Of N people who scored four conditions at work, the share whose weakest condition was safety, fairness, consequence or load, reported first for those who manage people. |
| AI Task Exposure Check: how much of your job is AI taking | below 30 | Of N people who sorted their own weekly tasks, the share whose Replaceable Tasks score is above the midpoint, split by whether they manage people. |
| Golden Handcuffs Test: is it the money, or the fear | below 30 | Of N people who sorted what keeps them in their job, the share whose tightest hold is fear and options rather than money, split by whether they manage people. |
| Job Security Signals Check: am I getting fired | below 30 | Of N people who checked the signals around their job, the share whose strongest signal came from their manager rather than the company, their record or the market. |
Join the sample
Every completion joins anonymously. No email, no name, no free text.
- Boss Pattern Test: what kind of boss do you have4 minutes, no email. Is it my boss, and what do I do about it on Monday? Statistics: Boss Pattern Statistics: What People Report About Bosses.
- Should I Quit My Job Quiz: the work, the boss, the deal or the mirror4 minutes, no email. Should I quit, and what exactly would I be leaving? Statistics: Should I Quit Statistics: What People Are Really Leaving.
- Promotion Block Finder: why am I not getting promoted4 minutes, no email. What is actually blocking my promotion, and what do I do in the next 90 days? Statistics: Promotion Block Statistics: Why People Feel Stuck.
- Should I Become a Manager: a 12 question fit test4 minutes, no email. Do I want the work of managing people, or the title that comes with it? Statistics: Become a Manager Statistics: Want the Work or the Title?.
- Micromanaged or Managed: the micromanaging boss test4 minutes, no email. Am I micromanaged, or managed closely for a reason, and what do I say on Monday? Statistics: Micromanaging Statistics: Room, Trust and Stated Reasons.
- Am I the Problem at Work: the common denominator test4 minutes, no email. Is it me, this one relationship, a hard stretch, or the place, and what do I do this week? Statistics: Am I the Problem Statistics: Self View Versus Colleagues.
- Toxic Workplace Test: the place, the boss or the week4 minutes, no email. Is it the place, the boss, or the week, and what exactly is missing? Statistics: Toxic Workplace Statistics: Four Conditions, Managers First.
- AI Task Exposure Check: how much of your job is AI taking4 minutes, no email. How much of my job is AI actually taking, and what do I do about it this week? Statistics: AI Job Exposure Statistics: Task Exposure by Role.
- Golden Handcuffs Test: is it the money, or the fear4 minutes, no email. Is it the money keeping me here, or something else, and what would I lead if it were not? Statistics: Golden Handcuffs Statistics: What Keeps People in Jobs.
- Job Security Signals Check: am I getting fired4 minutes, no email. Am I about to lose my job, and what should I do this week either way? Statistics: Job Security Statistics: The Signals People Report.
Why this index is separate
The Leadership Readiness Index is built from people who lead. Most respondents here do not. Folding them into the leader indexes would change the population and break every comparison across editions, so the two never share a file, a figure or a sample. A completion counts toward the leader indexes only when it comes from a leader facing instrument, and the routing answer on these tools is never used to move a completion from one index to the other.
What it will publish, and what it never will
Each instrument has its own statistics page that states, before any data arrives, the cuts it will report. Figures describe what respondents report about their own experience. No page will ever publish a percentage of bosses who are anything, a share of people who say they would quit or expect to be fired, a cut that could identify an employer, or any free text, because none is collected. Every published figure carries its n, its window and its date on the same line.
Take part
Every tool shows its result on screen without an email. The optional questions before each test, whether you manage people and where you are, only cut the aggregate and pick which next step you see first. They are never tied to a name.
Method in one paragraph
Respondents are self selected visitors who chose to take a free tool. They are not leaders unless the cut says so, and the unit is a completion, not a person. No cut is published below 30 completions, and the floor is never lowered. The full rules, including what is never published, are on the methodology page. Leader indexes on this site, the Leadership Readiness Index and the AI Leader Readiness benchmark, are separate and are never merged with this one.