Hello. Welcome back to Working It.
I implemented about 30 percent of the improvements I had planned over the holidays. But since I didn’t have a meeting (and this newsletter), I fueled up with some cake and cheese and took some time to think deeply 😳. I hope your vacation was fruitful, even if it meant something to you.
Read our experts’ predictions for the top workplace trends in 2025 🔮. And at Office Therapy, she advises people who are wondering whether it’s worth planning a career. Or even for next year.
What’s your next job? Experts predict top trends for 2025. . .
I compiled the opinions of a number of highly respected experts and asked everyone to be as specific as possible. We know generative AI is important, but how should we proceed? What else is on the table?
Azeem Azhar, Founder of Exponential View Newsletter:
The real winners in 2025 will not only be AI-savvy employees, but AI-savvy managers. Orchestrators that can direct a symphony of AI systems, including autonomous AI programs (agents) that can perform complex tasks. These managers are redefining what excellence means, moving far beyond simple AI co-pilots to creating and managing complex workflows where humans and multiple AI systems work together. Masu. Their teams will not only go faster, they will produce better work.
Louise Ballard, co-founder of consultancy Atheni.ai, said:
This is the year that writing weird emails using ChatGPT isn’t enough. That’s like saying you can fly a fighter jet because you sat in one. The winners in 2025 will not be the companies with the biggest budgets. Billions of dollars are wasted on failed projects. Winners will be leaders who help their organizations understand that transformation can happen when every role collaborates with generative AI every day. This wave of technology is different. Success will depend on fundamental changes in people and the way we think and work, and in 2025 that difference will be decisive.
Erica Bourne, Chief Human Resources Officer, London Stock Exchange Group:
2025 will be a year of new challenges for leaders. It requires focus, the ability to lead change, and importantly, empathy and inclusivity. Understanding employee needs is key to effectively managing multigenerational teams and adapting to increasingly complex work environments. Promoting openness and valuing diverse perspectives is critical to fostering collaboration and innovation. As the workplace continues to evolve, tools like AI will support teams by handling day-to-day tasks and providing actionable insights, allowing us all to focus on more impactful and creative work. It will be. But as our reliance on technology increases, so does our need for meaningful human connections. Only workplaces that balance technological advances with empathetic leadership can truly thrive in a rapidly evolving world.
Kevin Delaney, CEO and Editor-in-Chief of Charter, a future of work and media research firm, said:
We will see more in 2025 about how the use of AI will change the work experience. First, will AI make us less collaborative? Recent research suggests so, finding that software developers interact less with each other when they have access to AI tools. Second, it may also reduce employee satisfaction when using AI tools. Another recent study found that scientists at industrial labs increased productivity and innovation when using AI, but 82% said they were less likely to use AI in their work due to “less creativity and underutilization of skills.” I wasn’t satisfied. As the use of AI becomes more integrated into our work routines, great leaders will contend with any trade-offs in collaboration, skill development, and employee fulfillment.
Simon Gilbody, professor of psychological medicine at the University of York, said:
Loneliness is a silent killer and is as harmful as 15 cigarettes a day. Doubles the risk of depression. Increased sickness absence, presenteeism and turnover. Before the pandemic, loneliness was costing UK employers £2.5 billion a year, and costs are set to rise further. Hybrid working styles are here to stay, but they can increase feelings of isolation. Vulnerable groups include single people, people with disabilities, and minority home workers. This is fixable and should be a priority. Strategies include fostering connections and adapting job reviews. Interventions like CBT can also address feelings of loneliness. Finally, loneliness also disproportionately impacts CEOs, leaders, and managers. The group’s sales have never been higher. Leadership can be a lonely place.
FT features writer Emma Jacobs says:
Personnel itself will likely come under even more scrutiny this year. DEI initiatives have faced backlash, especially in the United States, influenced by so-called anti-woke politics. Judging by the large number of people who contact me every time I write about ageism, I don’t see where this leaves older workers who feel dissatisfied and ignored. Managers need to think more creatively about retraining and transferring staff, rather than hiring externally. Thinking more imaginatively about developing and retaining older workers has been one of the major workforce blind spots. Could this change in 2025?
Anjli Raval, FT Managing Editor:
Giving your all to work is not a good idea at all, and in 2025 you won’t hear much about it. Encouraging employees to completely remove their masks risks creating political rifts, religious strife, and over-sharing to the detriment of others, as we have seen. Just invite. It’s unpleasant and creates resentment. At a time when anger seems to be felt at every corner of the workplace, managers need to bridge the gap. Providing support for health issues and crises is essential, but there is a line between necessary transparency and unnecessary detail. As hybrid work blurs the lines between personal and professional, it’s important to balance authenticity with the right amount of discretion.
Chris Rowley, Visiting Fellow at Kellogg College, University of Oxford, and Emeritus Professor at Bayes Business School, London, said:
Expect tensions between work ethics and corporate social responsibility to increase. Change continues here, especially for younger workers. Changes in an individual’s work ethic are underpinned by ideas around society’s “involvement” (“neizumi” is the Chinese term for “inner roll”), which can no longer evolve, so no matter how hard someone works, Progress is impossible. In this worldview, it’s better not to worry about it too much.
Meanwhile, social media is widely used to “name and shame” companies deemed to be behaving wrongly or unethically in their dealings with employees and wider society. used.
These two trends are related to corporate culture. The latter is often forged, maintained, or destroyed by leaders and their actions and views. Consider the devastating impact of the infamous 1991 speech by Gerald Ratner, who became known as “Doing Ratner.” The modern version is Elon Musk and Tesla. So the old adage that “culture eats strategy for breakfast” still holds true.
Will Turner, CEO of GoJoe, an employee health and wellbeing app, said:
Health equity is going to be a big trend. As the NHS comes under pressure, the mental health epidemic continues and the financial crisis continues to have a serious impact, there will be a shift towards ‘health equity’ in the workplace. While most companies have traditionally operated a tiered model in which only executives have access to benefits such as premium health insurance, companies are increasingly moving toward a tiered model in which everyone has access to some form of health/wellness services. We will move towards a fairer model and more support will be provided. Addressing a wide range of workplace issues, including culture, engagement, and talent retention.
What work trends do you think will be important this year? Email isabel.berwick@ft.com and let us know what you’d like to see covered in this newsletter in 2025.
This week’s Working It Podcast
What’s the secret to great leadership? I’ve always been fascinated by the fact that great leaders are made, not born. In this week’s podcast episode, we speak with Columbia Business School professor Adam Galinsky. In his upcoming book, Inspire: The Universal Path for Leading Yourself and Others, he offers some very fascinating (and straightforward) leadership improvement ideas.
One of the things he talks about is the “multiplier effect of leadership.” Everything a leader does has a huge impact on their staff, and leaders need to be aware of that fact. (So, for example, never ask someone to “stop by the office” at the end of the day without telling you what they’re doing. They don’t do any work while the time passes.) )
office therapy
The problem: Every January, we are bombarded with “fresh start” ideas that suggest making plans and goals for life and work for the coming year and beyond 📝. I like this idea, but I don’t know which system, guru, or book to look at first.
Isabel’s Tip: One simple thing I do that might appeal to you is a 2025 “vision board” creation session. All you need to do is take a pile of old magazines or printed photos and create a collage of images and words that summarize what you want to achieve in 2025. (Helen Tapper from the career development group Amazing If posted the board on LinkedIn with some tips on how to best use it.)
If you’re looking for something more formal but also easier (from what I’ve heard), try YearCompass, a free booklet designed to “help you reflect on the year and plan for the year ahead.” Why not take a look?
More than that, good new books are always published in January. Talk: The Science of Conversation and the Art of Being Ourselves by Alison Wood Brooks, which will be released later this month, caught my eye. It aims to teach us to communicate better. And it’s definitely a more enduring goal than any career-related goal.
If you have any recommendations for inspirational tools and tricks for the new year that you can share with other readers, please send them to us. Keep it simple 👀: isabel.berwick@ft.com.
Words from the Working It community
The latest Working It film on how to improve CEO tenure and succession planning is now available on YouTube. We had a lot of fun making this, but we’d love to hear your thoughts and let us know what we missed. We know that CEO retention and succession is a huge and complex area. As someone who works for a company and wishes to remain anonymous, I would like to share the following thoughts 🤫:
Why are Neds (non-executive directors) typically expected to serve on nomination committees without remuneration? And why are nomination committee members required to have relevant recent experience in recruitment/succession planning? Is it not required?
And why does the chairman of a company often chair the nomination committee, as if it does not require much effort and can therefore be easily added? ?
In short, why is the nominating committee treated as if it has a bad relationship when it is actually the most important committee responsible for the future of the company?This is the successor issue Isn’t it connected to this?
For all your thoughts on Succession, responses to this week’s newsletter, and what I need to know: isabel.berwick@ft.com
