Written by Ted Kinney, Vice President of Research and Development
One of the truly enjoyable aspects of my job at Talogy is that I have the opportunity to talk to so many people in organizations about challenges and opportunities they face as our world of work evolves. As most of us have first-hand experience, our organizations have seen an unprecedented rate of change in the last few years. Whether from advances in technology, impacts from the pandemic, or just the natural evolution of how organizations operate, we are encountering new workplace trends and ideas coming out seemingly on a daily basis regarding how we work. By taking a deeper look into these existing or future trends in the workplace, organizations can begin developing innovative strategies that not only address current challenges within their workforce but also position themselves and their people for sustained success in 2025 and beyond.
What will happen in 2025?
When I think about the conversations that I have about what is impacting organizations and their people, it strikes me that many of the emerging trends in the workplace provide us with the ability to ‘meet people where they are.’ Many of the workplace trends that I see have a direct impact on how we design our jobs. As a psychologist, I know that job designs – how we structure the responsibilities and tasks associated with a particular role and providing the tools needed for success – have an impact on how we experience work. Those experiences then impact critical outcomes like job satisfaction, employee engagement, and productivity. Consequently, thinking about future business trends in 2025 and how they impact job design can provide us with some great opportunities to help us maximize both personal and organizational outcomes.
For me, the key to understanding these trends for 2025 is thinking about them through a lens of embracing inclusion. Understanding that everyone is different and designing jobs to allow for these differences is where the real opportunity exists. What motivates one person is different than the next person. The job design favored by one worker may be completely different than the next.
Many of the 2025 trends that are being discussed deal directly with the challenge of how best to structure work for the most positive outcomes for both people and organizations. I thought it would be interesting to think through some of these common topics as we forecast workplace trends for 2025 and discuss them from the perspective of embracing individual differences to design jobs that do the most good for the most people.
Workplace trends for 2025
1. Accessibility
This is emerging as one of the leading workplace trends for 2025 that organizations are thinking about more than they used to. A focus on accessibility in the modern workplace is truly a welcome change and has the potential to benefit individuals and organizations alike. In the past, organizations have paid lip service to this topic, or at best, just thought about it from a technology specification perspective. More and more however, I am starting to see organizations recognize that by making jobs more accessible, they are able to unlock people’s full potential.
As test developers, my team thinks about accessibility at every stage of our development process. This allows us to build tools that tap into a person’s fit for a job-role without disadvantaging them with a particular assessment methodology that may not fit their needs. Similarly, designing jobs with accessibility in mind allows organizations to help ALL workers showcase their best work and provide amazing contributions in their role.
2. Skills-based HR practices
This is another up-and-coming trend for 2025 where my reaction is to think, “It’s about time.” For too long, organizations have relied on experience-based indicators to evaluate people throughout the employee lifecycle – everything from employee selection, promotion decisions, succession planning, identifying high potential employees, and so on. For too long organizations have focused too much on what people have done (for example, what degrees they have attained) and too little on who they are (for example, do they think strategically when solving problems).
In our research, we have found time and time again that who a person is will always be a much better predictor of job performance than what experiences they have had. It is fantastic that organizations are starting to think more about what types of skills are really necessary to excel in jobs. Structuring a workforce full of people with the attributes that lead to success is more than a 2025 trend; it will always be more beneficial than compiling a workforce full of the “right diplomas.”
3. Artificial intelligence
I don’t think there is a day that goes by that I don’t have a conversation with someone about this workplace trend. Whether we are talking about designing tests, deterring generative AI use on assessments, emerging legislation, or many other topics, artificial intelligence is often on the minds of our clients, especially in the context of what will happen in 2025.
One consideration that does not get as much attention (but really should) is how artificial intelligence should impact how we think about job roles and what makes a person successful. We are seeing that as the use of artificial intelligence becomes more widely adopted, people are able to use it to become more efficient. AI allows people to spend less time on routine tasks and more time working on the problems where they can really add value. In many ways, AI frees people to contribute to the best of their ability.
These job design shifts should also change the way we think of an ideal profile for a role. Attributes like resourcefulness, creativity, and problem solving may become even more important in 2025. This would give people more opportunities to use these strengths in their job as AI handles more of their mundane day-to-day tasks.
4. Hybrid work
Another hot topic that I hear discussed frequently among the workplace trends for 2025 is around how our jobs should be structured. Should we return to the office? Is hybrid the right approach? Are people more or less productive when they work remotely?
I am of the opinion that there is no right answer to these questions. Reiterating my thought that these future business trends for 2025 emphasize a need for inclusion, we need to remember that people are different. We should embrace that diversity by designing work environments that best benefit both people and the organizations they work for.
Some jobs require on-location work, while others do not. Some people prefer the interaction they get in a busy office, whereas others are able to focus better in a home office. I have seen people get energized by non-work-related water cooler discussions that provide the micro break necessary to dive back into work when the break is over. Alternatively, I have seen people become highly distracted from these conversations or spend too much time in them which hurts productivity. In the end, and where possible, my advice is always to work with the individuals and design a workplace environment that best suits their needs and the needs of the position. By taking the individual and their preferences into consideration, we have the highest likelihood of making everyone successful.
5. Four-day work weeks
This is a workplace trend that has been more common in some of our European markets but is starting to be discussed across the globe. Is a five-day work week the ‘right’ number? Says who? This is not a concept that has been widely researched, rather, it is just how work weeks have evolved over time. Could it be that people would get more value out of life and organizations would get more productivity if they supported a different structure?
There is emerging thought that perhaps a four-day work week provides the necessary down time to help a person take responsibility for their well-being and improve work-life balance. This can help them to avoid burnout and be more productive workers for the entirety of their career. It is an interesting concept and worthy of more research and consideration, but again, like these other workplace trends for 2025, I think embracing people’s differences and finding the right work-life balance can only lead to positive outcomes for both people and the companies they work for.
Harnessing future workplace trends to maximize potential
It is a truly interesting time to be an organizational scientist as the rate of change we are seeing in organizations is exceptional. As these trends and ideas develop, it is useful to think about how they can impact our job design. These 2025 trends provide a great opportunity for organizations to work with their talent, encourage them to be who they are, and design jobs that will help them achieve their full potential. And, as I stated earlier, thinking about how these workplace trends meet the individual needs of each person, we can create the healthiest and most productive work environments possible.
