Hello and welcome (back) to Working It.
I did about 30 per cent of the improving things I’d planned for the holiday break — but in the absence of meetings (and this newsletter) I did get some deep thinking time, fuelled by cake and cheese 😳. I hope your break was productive, in whatever way is important to you.
Read on for experts’ predictions on what will be the top workplace trends for 2025 🔮. And in Office Therapy I advise someone who wonders whether it’s worth planning a career. Or even for the year ahead.
What’s next for work? Experts predict the top trends for 2025 . . .
I’ve drawn together the views of a bunch of experts I rate highly, and asked everyone to be as specific as possible: we know generative AI is important, but how should we proceed? And what else is on the agenda?
Azeem Azhar, founder of Exponential View newsletter:
The real winners of 2025 won’t just be AI-savvy employees, it’ll be AI-savvy managers. The orchestrators who can conduct a symphony of AI systems, including autonomous AI programs (agents) that can perform complex tasks. These managers will redefine what excellence looks like, moving far beyond simple AI co-pilots to creating and managing complex workflows where humans and multiple AI systems work together. Their teams won’t just go faster, they will produce better work, too.
Louise Ballard, co-founder of consultancy Atheni.ai:
This is the year when using ChatGPT to write the odd email isn’t enough — that’s like saying you can fly a fighter jet because you’ve sat in one. The winners in 2025 won’t be those with the biggest budgets: billions are wasted in failed projects. The winners will be leaders who guide their organisations to understand that transformation can happen when every role collaborates daily with generative AI. This technology wave is different: success is about humans and mindset, a fundamental shift in how we work and 2025 is when that difference becomes decisive.
Erica Bourne, chief people officer, London Stock Exchange Group:
2025 will be another challenging year for leaders. It will require focus, the ability to lead change and, crucially, empathy and inclusion. Understanding the needs of the workforce is key to effectively managing multigenerational teams and adapting to increasingly complex work environments. Fostering openness and valuing diverse perspectives is critical in encouraging collaboration and innovation. As workplaces continue to evolve, tools like AI will support teams by handling routine tasks and providing actionable insights, allowing us all to focus on more impactful, creative work. However, as our reliance on technology grows, so does the need for meaningful human connection. Only workplaces that balance technological advancements with empathetic leadership will truly thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
Kevin Delaney, chief executive and editor-in-chief of Charter, a future of work and media research company:
How the use of AI changes the experience of work will become clearer in 2025. First, does AI make us less collaborative? Recent research suggests so, finding that software developers interacted with each other less when they had access to AI tools. Second, it’s also possible that workers using AI tools will be less happy. Other recent research found productivity and innovation gains by scientists in an industrial lab when they used AI, but 82 per cent were less satisfied with their work “due to decreased creativity and skill underutilisation”. As AI usage becomes even more embedded in our work routines, the best leaders will combat any trade-offs in collaboration, skills development and employees’ fulfilment.
Simon Gilbody, professor of psychological medicine, University of York:
Loneliness is a silent killer, as harmful as 15 cigarettes daily. It doubles the risk of depression; increasing sickness absence, presenteeism and turnover. Pre-pandemic, loneliness cost UK employers £2.5bn annually, but costs will have risen. Hybrid working is here to stay, but can amplify isolation. Vulnerable groups include single, disabled and minoritised homeworkers. This is fixable and should be prioritised. Strategies include fostering connectedness and adapting job reviews. Interventions like CBT can also address loneliness. Lastly, loneliness also disproportionately affects CEOs, leaders and managers. Turnover in this group has never been higher. Leadership can be a lonely place.
Emma Jacobs, FT features writer:
This year, HR itself will be under greater scrutiny. DEI initiatives are receiving pushback, emboldened by so-called anti-woke politics, particularly in the US. I don’t know where this leaves older workers who, judging by the scores of people contacting me whenever I write about ageism, feel frustrated and neglected. Rather than recruiting externally, managers should think more creatively about retraining or moving staff. Thinking more imaginatively about developing and retaining older workers has been one of the great blind spots when it comes to the workforce — could this change in 2025?
Anjli Raval, FT management editor:
“Bringing your whole self to work” is not entirely a good idea and we will hear much less about it in 2025. Encouraging employees to fully unmask only risks unleashing — as we have seen — political rifts, religious strife and personal oversharing that makes others uncomfortable and breeds resentment. Managers are left to bridge divides at a time when every corner of the workplace seemingly has something to feel angry about. Providing support for health issues and crises is vital, but there’s a line between necessary transparency and non-essential detail. At a time when hybrid work has blurred personal and professional boundaries, balancing authenticity with the right amount of discretion is important.
Chris Rowley, visiting fellow at Kellogg College, Oxford and emeritus professor at Bayes Business School, London:
We will see a growing tension between work ethics versus corporate social responsibility. There are ongoing changes here, especially for younger workers. The shifts in personal work ethics are underpinned by ideas around “involution” (“neijuan” is the Chinese term, or “rolling inwards”) of societies that can no longer evolve, and so no matter how hard someone works, progress is impossible. It’s better not to bother too much, in this world view.
On the other hand, there is widespread use of social media to “name and shame” businesses seen to act in incorrect or unethical ways in dealing with their workers and wider society.
These two trends are linked to corporate cultures. The latter are often forged and sustained — or destroyed — by leaders and their actions and views. Think of the catastrophic fallout of the infamous 1991 speech by Gerald Ratner, which became known as “doing a Ratner”. A contemporary version is Elon Musk with Tesla. In short, the old dictum that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” is still relevant.
Will Turner, chief executive of GoJoe, an employee health and wellbeing app:
Health equity is going to be a big trend. With the NHS under pressure, the mental health epidemic persisting and the financial crisis continuing to bite, there will be an increasing shift towards “equitable health” in the workplace. While most businesses historically operate a tiered model, whereby only executives receive access to perks such as premium health insurance, companies will increasingly shift towards a more equitable model where everyone receives access to some form of health/wellness offering — and there will be more support for wider issues in the workplace such as culture, engagement and talent retention.
What work trend do you think will be important this year? Email me [email protected] and tell me what you would like this newsletter to cover in 2025.
This week on the Working It podcast
What is the secret sauce that makes for good leadership? I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that good leaders are made, not born. On this week’s podcast episode, I talk to Adam Galinsky, a Columbia Business School professor, who offers a very enticing (and straightforward) set of leadership improvement ideas in his forthcoming book, Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others.
One of the things he talks about is the “leadership amplification effect”: anything that leaders do has a magnified effect on staff, and they should be aware of that fact. (So never, for example, tell someone to stop by your office at the end of the day without telling them what it is about — they will do no work while the hours tick by ⏰.)
Office Therapy
The problem: Every year in January we are bombarded with “new start” ideas suggesting we make a plan and goals for life and work in the year ahead and beyond 📝. I do like the idea of this but I am not sure which system/guru/book to look at first.
Isabel’s advice: One simple thing I am doing and that might appeal to you: a 2025 “vision board” making session. All you need is a pile of old magazines or printed pictures to create a collage of images and words that sum up what you want to achieve in 2025. (Helen Tupper, from the career development group Amazing If, posted her board on LinkedIn, with some tips on how best to use them.)
For something more formal but also (I am told) easy, you could try the free YearCompass booklet, designed to “help you reflect on the year and plan the next one”.
Beyond that, good new books always appear in January — my eye was caught by Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves by Alison Wood Brooks, out later this month. It’s aimed at teaching us to communicate better — and surely that’s a more lasting goal than anything career-related?
Do send any recommendations for inspiring new year tools or tricks that I can pass on to other readers. Keep it simple, please 👀: [email protected].
A word from the Working It community
Our latest Working It film on how to improve chief executive tenure and succession planning is now on YouTube. We loved making it, but do let us know what you think — and what we missed. I’m aware that CEO retention and succession is a huge and complex area. I wanted to share the following observations from someone who works in a company but has to remain anonymous 🤫:
Why are Neds (non-executive directors) usually expected to sit on the nomination committee for no fee? And why is there no requirement for recent and relevant experience of recruitment/succession planning for members of the nomination committee?
And why does the company Chair usually chair the nomination committee — as if it doesn’t require much effort and is therefore an easy add-on?
In short, why is the nomination committee treated like a poor relation, when it is actually the most important committee of all, taking responsibility for the future of the company? Doesn’t this contribute to the succession problem?
All thoughts on succession, responses to this week’s newsletter — and anything I should know about: [email protected]
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