5 Workplace Trends to Watch in 2025
Welcome to the new year! With the turning of the calendar, we have an opportunity to look at what’s next for workplace culture. While some of the trends I’ve been noticing are new, others have been around a while and will continue to gain momentum in 2025.
Let’s have a look.
The AI Acceleration Will Continue
AI continues to be at the forefront of workplace technology and will have an impact on how we hire new talent and how that talent performs their daily tasks.
One important element that will gain importance is the ethical development of such technology. We’ll need to collectively assess how we can use AI in a way that doesn’t exploit our people or society at large. This, of course, is a tall order.
While leaders and companies might have limited control over the wide-scale development of AI, they do have the ability to determine how it will be used in their organizations and products.
If this isn’t already a topic of discussion on your executive teams, make it an agenda item as you enter the new year. Create a set of guiding principles that will help you create an AI agenda that fits with your company’s values, your business needs, and your employees’ comfort levels.
The Human Element Will Become Increasingly Important
Despite the ever-evolving development of technology, the human element will always be at the center of our working relationships. It’s people who make our organizations successful, no matter how advanced technology becomes.
Because of this, skills like empathy, communication, gratitude, and inclusive leadership will become increasingly important. So, while AI might make some mundane tasks easier, it won’t help you create a healthy, thriving workplace culture.
As a leader, make sure to continue investing in the development of these skills, for yourself, your executive team, and the future leaders within your company. Take the time to develop a learning and development strategy that centers these skills so your people can hone their resilience and help your organization navigate the ups and downs of 2025 and beyond.
Flexibility Will Remain Key to Employee Well-being
Much like AI, return to office was at the forefront of every workplace conversation in 2024. We’re all continuing on this journey into 2025, and I’m a firm believer that flexibility is the best path forward in helping to create and sustain thriving cultures.
Employees, now more than ever, are looking for companies that empower them to do their best work whenever and however it works best for them. We’ve seen the 5-day-a-week return-to-office mandates be met with widespread resistance, and it’s because employees want to be treated with respect and the acknowledgement that they’re adults who are able to manage their time and prioritize their work without needing to trek to the office every day to prove it.
And while not all roles can be fully remote or offer the same level of flexibility, as leaders, we’ll need to find the best way to offer flexible options to all our employees. As my colleague Panu Luukka shared in my interview with him, a sense of autonomy and respect is an essential aspect of happiness and well-being at work.
Skills-First Hiring Will Be the Way of the Future
Over the last several years, companies have begun to realize that focusing on traditional career paths and educational backgrounds excludes a huge portion of the talent pool who have the skills to do jobs despite not having the expected credentials.
We’ve seen a shift in hiring practices, learning and development strategies, and internal mobility opportunities to focus more on transferable skills rather than degrees and GPAs. And this is a very welcome change because tapping into diverse candidates helps not only strengthen innovation and improve retention, but it also helps create company cultures that are grounded in principles of equity and inclusion.
This approach helps to create a sense of psychological safety, as employees see that their unique perspectives and contributions are prioritized over whether or where they might have gone to university.
Trust and Transparency Will Be at the Forefront
While trends come and go, fundamental elements of a healthy workplace culture endure. Two key elements of this are trust and transparency. As leaders, trust is something we can’t afford not to cultivate. It needs to be consistently top of mind and present in every action we take for and with our people.
It can seem like a difficult challenge, but it’s one that will make or break the success of your organization. A strong sense of trust is reciprocal and creates a virtuous cycle, so the more you act with trustworthiness, the more trust continues to thrive and grow in your team and organization.
Transparency is a key fact in creating trust. Leaders need to say what they mean, mean what they say, and do what they say they will do. Consistently showing up with integrity and credibility will allow your employees to have trust that you have their best interest in mind and they will feel a stronger sense of security in their work.
There are many more elements that contribute to a healthy and thriving workplace, so use these trends as a starting point on your journey. Get in touch to learn more about how I can help you through my coaching services and consulting solutions.