WX trends: Three big workplace predictions for 2025
Our workplace experience (WX) trends series looks at recent news articles, videos, social media posts, and thought leadership pieces on workplace experience. You’ll also hear from our experts on what’s trending.
Are you ready for 2025? We’ve identified three hot topics for the coming year: AI, employee wellbeing, and evolving leadership strategies designed to keep pace with changing business needs.
- AI: 2025 will answer more practical, measurable use cases
AI was always going to be a top trend for 2025 – it’s cropped up in many of our previous WX trends this year from AI literacy in the workplace to the AI career wave.
So it’s no surprise it features heavily in many WX forecasts, including LinkedIn’s 25 Big Ideas that will change our world in 2025.
AI will pave the way for a shorter working week, they predict, with AI assistants giving us more free time. Experts are calling it a “productivity revolution,” with AI evolving into something like a “digital twin” that remembers your work history and handles routine tasks. This frees you up to focus on the creative, human parts of your job – the stuff only you can do.
AI is also being hailed as a game-changer for inclusivity. It could help create better learning and development opportunities for employees with disabilities or those who are neurodivergent. And here’s the kicker: businesses that embrace assistive AI could see a 28% boost in revenue and a 30% jump in profit margins, according to the World Economic Forum. Sounds like a win-win, right?
Plus, LinkedIn points to the practical gains for CEOs and businesses where AI isn’t just a shiny new tool, it’s a way to drive meaningful, measurable outcomes. Whether that’s streamlining operations or uncovering new efficiencies, CEOs are poised to make smarter, data-backed decisions with AI in their corner.
Appspace’s Chief Innovation Officer, Thomas Philippart de Foy, argues that “business leaders must look at AI as a partner in transformation, not just as a tool for efficiency. The true potential of AI,” he says, “lies in how we deploy it to support human creativity. Think about how it can be used to foster inclusivity and drive measurable outcomes. Successful businesses will be the ones who use AI to empower their workforce, not replace it.”
- Employee wellbeing will get an upgrade
Workplace mental health support is getting the upgrade it desperately needs, argues Forbes in its roundup of predictions from business leaders. Traditional programs are falling short, says one, so companies will move toward personalized, holistic wellness initiatives that address employees’ real needs.
When it comes to specific initiatives, LinkedIn reports that employers are starting to recognize the importance of supporting menopausal women in the workplace, for example, both to enhance wellbeing and retain valuable talent. In 2025, companies will address productivity losses and reduce stigma by offering flexible work, access to specific healthcare, and workplace education programs.
By prioritizing wellbeing and work-life balance, businesses won’t just be helping employees to stay healthy – they’ll be creating a more engaged and productive workforce.
- Leadership strategies will evolve to support dynamic teams
Gartner emphasizes the need for leaders to rethink workforce planning with a sharper focus on capabilities. According to their research, Top 5 Priorities for HR Leaders in 2025, a staggering 61% of talent management leaders admit they’re struggling to meet demands with their current capacity and by 2030, over 85 million jobs could go unfilled globally.
To make matters worse, less than 25% of HR leaders feel confident they’re developing the right talent to guide their organizations into the future. Current leadership development programs just aren’t cutting it.
Gartner points out that only 15% of organizations are engaging in strategic workforce planning and stresses the need to shift from tactical headcount planning to a more capabilities-driven approach.
Forbes agrees. Instead of seeing employees as tied to rigid job titles, they argue, thriving companies will view them as a “community of skills” that can be deployed flexibly to adapt to changing business needs.
This shift is especially critical as businesses hire across borders and navigate the rise of side hustles among employees. We’ll see more HR teams stepping up, balancing legal compliance, cultural inclusivity, and the need for dynamic teamwork. Because, let’s face it, “teaming” (working collaboratively in agile groups) is quickly becoming the future of how we collaborate. Add AI literacy to the mix, and you’ve got a recipe for workplaces that are smarter, more efficient, and more human than ever.
“Workplaces of the future will prioritize both people and potential,” says Holly Grogan, Appspace’s Chief Experience Officer. “By investing in people, companies foster healthier, happier, more engaged teams. And if leaders embrace a dynamic approach to management, and focus on capabilities and skills, teams will be ready to adapt and thrive in an ever-changing environment.”
