Globally, only 20% of employees said they were engaged at work in 2025, dropping from a post-pandemic high of 23% in 2022 (Gallup, 2026). While falling levels may point to structural changes – like a tough job market and increasing AI use – it may also indicate a shift in the benefits and culture employees demand to feel satisfied professionally.

Rapid adoption of professional AI tools is reshaping the world of work, as we detail in The Future of AI at Work. Some companies are encouraging employees to maximise AI use, leaving them mired in busy tasks like managing AI agents and editing generated outputs. As AI costs multiply, companies must clarify their adoption goals to maximise the value of these augmented processes.

From university students selecting degrees to experienced employees seeking upskilling, AI is prompting a skills reckoning at every career stage. Experts predict the most in-demand abilities will uplift human expertise and interpersonal know-how, leading employers to build new training programmes and apprenticeships that cultivate soft skills from entry-level up.

As hybrid work shifts from pandemic-era holdover to established professional schedule, new office norms are solidifying. Employers are reframing hybrid schedules around cohesion and focused work in-office, sidelining the flexibility employees want. Meanwhile, office designs are attempting to find harmony with flexible amenities and spaces that blend social zones with areas for deep work.

AI is increasingly adopting a quasi-managerial role and creating new ways to quantify performance. Companies are implementing tools that monitor employee AI use or train bots to develop specialised institutional knowledge. Yet, employees are increasingly voicing concerns that, without proper oversight, these tools will foster bias and degrade work quality.

The unconventional careers we've tracked since our 2017 Macro Trend The Work-Life Revolution are becoming the go-to trajectory for employees and employers alike. Globally, 38% of people want a self-driven career combining multiple roles and income streams, while 72% of employers agree the corporate ladder is outdated (Randstad, 2026) – a shift reshaping how jobs are planned and structured.

Whether driven by AI reliance or overloaded schedules, the erosion of workplace socialisation is impacting employee wellbeing and engagement – globally, one-third (33%) of employees rarely or never talk with colleagues beyond transactional work-related discussions (Workday, 2026). In response, companies are reimagining office space – some for project-based collaboration, others simply for cohesion.

Hiring markets are shifting worldwide, and in many countries, young people are bearing the brunt of layoffs and unemployment. Their responses reveal a fragmenting job market. Some are recording their job search to illuminate the struggles facing young people, many are kickstarting entrepreneurial careers, and others are pausing their job search indefinitely.

Young people are increasingly attracted to the purported stability and pay checks of vocational work, a trend we’ve tracked since our 2024 report Reframing Trade Professions. While demand is growing for apprenticeships and training programmes, there’s still a notable lag in acceptance and opportunity – an area ripe for engagement.

Employees continue to highly value work-life balance – 46% globally say it motivates them to stay in their jobs (Randstad, 2026) – but expanding hybrid schedules and AI-driven productivity goals are eroding the balance between professional and personal time. Governments are responding with regulation that normalises working conditions and limits hours.