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The State of the Digital Workplace Experience

New evidence on the relationship between DWX, engagement, and employee outcomes
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Build a digital workplace that works better

The organizations best positioned for the future will not simply give employees more technology.

They will create digital workplaces where people can find information they trust, understand what matters, get work done with less friction, and remain connected as the business grows.

Download The State of the Digital Workplace Experience to discover what separates a good digital workplace from the rest.

Complete the form to receive the full research report from Unily and Gallup.

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Access the insights. Move work forward.

What separates a good digital workplace from the rest?

New research from Unily and Gallup reveals a significant gap between the workplace technology organizations provide and the experience employees actually have.

Based on a survey of 2,305 U.S. workers, the report examines how Digital Workplace Experience relates to workforce performance, organizational complexity, and readiness for AI.

Only 1 in 5 employees has a good Digital Workplace Experience

A good Digital Workplace Experience combines two essential elements:

  • Digital Enablement: Employees can find, access, and use the tools and information they need without unnecessary friction.
  • Digital Culture: The digital environment helps employees understand the organization, connect with colleagues, learn, and feel recognized.

Only 20% of employees experience both.

 

Gallup_Unily_Good vs Poor DWX Inforgraphic

 

Why Digital Workplace Experience matters

This is bigger than technology

Digital Workplace Experience is not simply an IT issue. It is part of the foundation for enterprise performance.

Employees with good DWX report materially different outcomes from those with poor DWX:

3.1×

More likely to be engaged

5.5×

More likely to strongly recommend their organization as a place to work

11% vs. 38%

Experience frequent burnout

1.6×

More likely to intend to stay

The research does not establish causation, but the consistency of the findings reveals a clear relationship between Digital Workplace Experience and the workforce conditions that underpin enterprise performance.

 

Unily_Gallup_Employee Engagement Infographic.png

Key finding one

Technology that works is only half the answer

Organizations often focus on whether employees can access the tools and information they need. But the research suggests that the culture created through those systems may matter even more.

Employees with strong Digital Culture but weak Digital Enablement report better outcomes than those with strong Enablement but weak Culture:

  • 38% vs. 17% are engaged
  • 34% vs. 17% strongly recommend their employer
  • 29% vs. 14% strongly agree their organization cares about their wellbeing
  • 21% vs. 29% experience frequent burnout

Employees with both strong Enablement and strong Culture report the best outcomes overall. But the message is clear: usable technology alone does not create a high-performing digital workplace.

The digital environment must also keep people informed, connected, recognized, and able to grow.

Gallup_Unily_Leadership Comms Inforgraphic

Key finding two

Easy to access does not mean easy to trust

Organizations may have made workplace information more available without making it consistently reliable.

While 57% of employees say workplace information is relatively easy to access, only 26% describe their organization’s digital information as very accurate.

Among employees who use both people and digital information or resources to get work done:

60% trust people most

29% trust digital information and resources most

For enterprise leaders, this is more than a findability problem. It raises important questions about knowledge governance, organizational clarity, and whether employees can confidently turn information into action.

Gallup_Unily_Information Trust Infographic.png

Key finding three

Complexity grows faster than the employee experience can keep up

Digital Workplace Experience becomes harder to deliver as organizations increase in size.

The proportion of employees with good DWX falls from:

22%

At organizations with fewer than 500 employees

15%

At organizations with 10,000 or more employees

Larger and more distributed organizations also report greater tool-switching, communication pressure, and difficulty creating a sense of connection.

The research reveals how information fragmentation contributes to that complexity:

  • 33% frequently switch tools when information is held in one location
  • 62% do so when information is spread across a few locations
  • 78% do so when information is spread across many locations

Complexity may be an unavoidable part of enterprise scale. A poor Digital Workplace Experience is not.

Unily_Gallup_Large Organizations DWX Infographic

Key finding four

AI readiness starts with the workplace employees already have

Enterprise AI is being introduced into digital environments that employees may already find fragmented, difficult to navigate, or hard to trust.

Among employees who use AI:

47%

of those with good DWX trust AI-provided information

26%

of those with poor DWX trust AI-provided information

At the same time, 72% of employees had not participated in employer-provided AI training or learning activities during the previous six months.

AI cannot resolve unclear, fragmented, or untrusted information by itself. Organizations need the right foundations, including trusted enterprise knowledge, effective workplace systems, strong governance, and a culture that helps employees use technology confidently.

Unily_Gallup_AI Readiness Infographic

What you'll get

You will learn...

Download the report to explore:

  • The eight measures that define Digital Workplace Experience
  • Why good DWX remains uncommon despite sustained technology investment
  • How DWX relates to engagement, burnout, advocacy, and retention
  • Why Digital Culture may matter more than functional technology alone
  • How information fragmentation contributes to tool-switching
  • Why DWX becomes harder to deliver as organizations grow
  • How distributed work increases reliance on the digital workplace
  • The relationship between existing DWX and employees’ trust in AI
  • What distinguishes employees with strong Digital Workplace Experiences

Who it's for

Essential insight for enterprise leaders

The report provides relevant evidence for:

  • CEOs and business leaders connecting workplace investment to enterprise performance
  • CIOs and IT leaders managing complexity, information fragmentation, and AI readiness
  • CHROs and people leaders focused on engagement, retention, and workforce effectiveness
  • Internal communications leaders building clarity, connection, and trust at scale
  • Digital workplace leaders creating experiences that work across systems, roles, and locations
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Access the insights. Move work forward.

Digital Workplace Experience FAQs

What Is digital employee experience (DEX)?

Digital employee experience describes how people interact with the technology, information, and services they need at work. It covers the whole employee journey, from onboarding and learning to everyday communication and support.

A strong Digital Experience Platform (DXP) brings together digital tools and company culture. Employees can find what they need, use systems easily, connect with colleagues, and understand organizational priorities.

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How does technology affect employee engagement?

Technology supports employee engagement when it helps people work effectively and feel connected to the organization. The research found that employees with good experiences were 3.1 times as likely to be engaged as those with poor experiences.

The impact extends beyond access. Digital tools should help employees learn, receive recognition, understand business priorities, and work as one team. These conditions can strengthen company culture, employee satisfaction, and job satisfaction.

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What causes digital friction at work?

Digital friction occurs when technology adds unnecessary effort to everyday tasks. Common causes include fragmented information, repeated sign-ins, unclear ownership, and switching between disconnected systems.

Organizations can reduce that burden by simplifying the tech stack, connecting HR systems and learning management systems, and introducing single sign-on where appropriate. Clear digital workflows also help employees complete tasks without having to navigate multiple destinations.

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What role do intranets and collaboration technology play?

An intranet can provide a trusted front door to information, services, and organizational updates. Collaboration tools support teamwork, while communication platforms help leaders and teams share relevant messages at scale.

The value comes from how these technologies work together. Connected digital platforms can improve knowledge sharing and reduce the time employees spend searching across different sources. A clear user interface should make the next action obvious, rather than adding another layer of complexity.

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How can organizations improve experiences for different employees?

To improve digital employee experience, start by understanding how work varies across roles, locations, and working environments. Practical personas can help teams identify where frontline, desk-based, and distributed employees encounter different barriers.

This is particularly important for hybrid work. The research found that employees on mixed-location teams rely more heavily on digital information and report greater communication pressure and tool-switching than employees whose teams work primarily in one location.

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How should leaders build a digital employee experience (DEX) strategy?

A clear DEX strategy should connect employee needs with business outcomes. Leaders should identify where people lose time, struggle to find trusted information, or disconnect from organizational priorities.

Effective change management turns those findings into focused improvements. Prioritize changes that remove barriers, clarify ownership, and help employees act. The right digital workplace solutions and digital workplace tools should support that plan without creating more complexity

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How does the employee experience support retention?

The Unily x Gallup State of the Digital Workplace Experience report shows a relationship between strong experiences and better workforce outcomes. Employees with good experiences were 1.6 times as likely to intend to stay as those with poor experiences.

That makes technology and culture relevant to both employee retention and talent retention. Organizations should treat these outcomes as part of a wider performance strategy, not as the result of one system or intervention.

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How does the Unily x Gallup State of the Digital Workplace Experience research inform digital transformation and AI readiness?

Successful digital transformation should make work clearer and easier. Adding more technology without addressing fragmented information or low trust can increase complexity instead.

This matters as organizations adopt generative AI. The research found that employees with good experiences were more likely to trust information provided by AI than those with poor experiences.

Preparing for the future of work starts with accurate knowledge, connected systems, strong governance, and employees who know how to use new capabilities confidently.

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