The Emotional Recession: Global EQ Is Declining — What It Means for Your Career

# The Emotional Recession: Global EQ Is Declining — What It Means for Your Career

> **Quick answer:** A landmark 2025 study of 28,000 workers across 166 countries found that global emotional intelligence (EQ) scores fell 5.79% between 2019 and 2024 — a phenomenon researchers now call the "Emotional Recession." The steepest losses are in optimism, motivation, and empathy. Workers with above-average EQ are 10 times more likely to thrive. Understanding which EQ skills you've lost — and how to rebuild them — may be the most important career move you make this year.

We already knew burnout was rising. We already knew engagement was falling. But a major new study suggests something deeper is happening: humanity itself is becoming less emotionally intelligent, and your career is paying the price.

The research, published in *Frontiers in Psychology* in November 2025 by Joshua Freedman and colleagues at Six Seconds, analyzed emotional intelligence data from 28,000 adults across 166 countries. The verdict is striking: global EQ dropped measurably and consistently across every dimension measured — and the decline accelerated during the pandemic years.

## What Is the Emotional Recession — and Why Should You Care?

The term "Emotional Recession" mirrors the economic concept deliberately. Just as an economic recession contracts output, this is a contraction of human emotional capacity — a systemic loss of the skills that make work (and life) function.