Business leaders are faring better than their employees​​ 2 Most leaders in our study were male information workers with an established career – the near opposite of those struggling most. The Work Trend Index survey was conducted by an independent research firm, Edelman Data x Intelligence, among 31,092 full - time e mployed or self - employed workers across 31 markets – between January 12, 2021 to January 25, 2021.