44% of your employees want to leave. Do you know which ones?
Work Pulse 2026 uncovers 5 distinct Mauritian employee profiles — and why your average satisfaction score is hiding what matters most.
A labour market under structural pressure
Mauritius is simultaneously facing demographic decline, persistent brain drain, and a growing tension between the expectations of new generations and the realities of the workplace. This is not a temporary crisis — it is a fundamental shift in the relationship to work.
- 29% of Mauritians are under 24 — down from 45% in 1995. The talent pool is shrinking fast.
- 41% of employees are women, yet they hold only 31% of management positions.
- 49% feel worried or very worried about their personal future.
Overall satisfaction: 6.6/10. So what?
The classic barometer gives you an average. It reassures you. It puts you to sleep. Because behind that 6.6/10 lie radically different profiles — some of whom have already checked out mentally, or are about to walk out the door.
“Averages mask critical profiles. An engaged employee at 8.6/10 and a distressed employee at 3.8/10 together produce a ‘decent satisfaction’ score. Departures, however, don’t come from the average — they come from the extremes.”
- 44% want to change employer
- 30% feel they are underpaid
- 46% cite management-related problems
The Work Pulse attitudinal segmentation
The 5 profiles of Mauritian employees
Statistical analysis of survey responses identified 5 distinct groups — the result of a mathematical calculation that clusters individuals who share the most similar attitudes toward work. These profiles are not arbitrary. They are predictive.
The Fulfilled – 24%
IT/Telecom · 30–39 yrs · Middle management. Happy, well-managed, well-trained. Risk: boredom can push them out. 58% have a latent desire to go abroad.
The Anchored – 22%
Public sector + IT · 35–49 yrs · 97% don’t want to leave. The institutional backbone — but discreet and often overlooked. Moderate salary satisfaction (5.7/10).
The Suffering – 19%
Health & Education · 51% women · 20–34 yrs · Undervalued graduates. 75% want to leave. Lowest mental state (4.9/10). Requires immediate action.
The Mobiles – 18%
25–29 yrs · Highest education level. 95% are considering going abroad. The window to act is narrow — the tipping point can be sudden and irreversible.
The Trapped – 17%
57% men · 35–39 yrs. Stable façade (mental 7.6/10) but shattered management relationship (4.9/10). 85% want to leave. Undetectable by classic surveys.
The Suffering (19%) and the Trapped (17%) together account for 36% of your workforce. Each departure costs 6 to 12 months’ salary. Yet they are invisible to any barometer that reads the average.
The 7 satisfaction levers – What actually keeps your employees
The Work Pulse 2026 study models the statistical drivers of workplace satisfaction. These 7 levers explain 67% of the observed variance — the most predictive factors of retention or attrition.
The real question isn’t whether you have Suffering or Trapped employees. You do.
The question is: how many, where, and how to act before it’s too late.
29 May 2026
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