The future of the labor market is being drawn in dynamic colors – rapid digitization of workplaces, pressure for new skills, and the need for strategic career planning are just some of the trends that will dominate 2025. These conclusions come from the “Trends 2025 Report. Salaries and labor market – acceleration of adaptation”, published today by Manpower. The publication identifies 16 key changes that will shape the world of work from the perspective of both employees and candidates. The partner of the report is the job portal rocketjobs.pl.
Stressed like a Manager
According to the publication “Trends 2025 Report. Salaries and labor market – acceleration of adaptation”, a significant part of Millennials, i.e., people aged 28-43, hold a managerial position managing the work of at least one person. The plethora of both private and professional duties, along with the added pressure, means that 53% of middle-level leaders worldwide grapple with stress daily. That’s why they value the emphasis on work-life balance, ethical leadership, and transparent organization management among their employers.
“Workplace dynamics are evolving incredibly quickly, changing market expectations, especially those of teams and the talents contemporary managers work with every day. This makes their role very demanding,” says Katarzyna Pączkowska, permanent employment director at Manpower. “On the one hand, leaders face business demands, being responsible for the performance of many teams. They also deal with various expectations from their employees, the need for individual approach to each employee, wage pressure, and different management and coordination styles. This challenging role, especially in the world of dispersed teams, requires a unique combination of soft skills, excellent communication, cooperation, analysis, and stress resistance,” adds the expert.
Tomasz Walenczak, Managing Director of ManpowerGroup in Poland, emphasizes that for employers, the current year will focus on team diversity and generational changes. “As data from the report shows, many companies are treating efforts towards equality, inclusiveness, and a sense of belonging as one of their HR strategies’ priorities. A noticeable trend will also be the development of new work models and the effects of dynamic digital transformation. Workplace flexibility has taken on a new meaning – employers increasingly expect teams to perform their duties mainly from the office. Meanwhile, for employees, the ability to work in a hybrid model, with a predominance of days spent in home office, remains crucial,” says Walenczak.
Flexibility like never before
In 2020, office presence worldwide dropped by 90%, igniting a global work model revolution. However, greater flexibility for some teams can be demotivating for employees required to work on-site. Today, 76% of hybrid workers claim that flexibility positively affects their wellbeing and balance between work and private life (source: ManpowerGroup). In contrast, 57% of on-site workers agree.
“Employment stability, competitive salaries, transparent offers, especially in terms of financial ranges, are gaining importance in light of economic uncertainty, and the trend will certainly continue in 2025. One of the priorities for candidates is also a hybrid work model, preferably also with flexible hours. And although many organizations are returning to their offices, the ability to work from home is still coveted by applicants. In our rapidly changing reality, mental comfort and low stress levels are becoming increasingly important for employees, especially for the youngest generation of candidates. Generation Z also pays attention to the communication style in advertisements; clarity of the message, inclusive language, and a balance between requirements and the offer for the candidate matters,” says Piotr Nowosielski, CEO of Just Join IT and rocketjobs.pl job portals.
AI Increases Productivity Pressure
ManpowerGroup’s research shows that almost half of employers (48%) worldwide already use generative artificial intelligence tools, and another 21% plan to implement them within the next 12 months. MIT analyses suggest that the latest technologies can boost the productivity of highly skilled workers by up to 40% compared to those who don’t use them. Although new technologies undoubtedly facilitate work, on the other hand, nearly half (47%) of the world’s AI-using employees claim they have no idea how to boost their productivity, which their superiors expect of them. Meanwhile, 77% believe AI tools paradoxically reduced their productivity and increased their workload (source: Upwork).
“Implementing artificial intelligence in almost every industry has its two faces. On the one hand, it streamlines many processes, facilitates work and development, and in the era of talent shortages, it can help fill these gaps in everyday employee activities. On the other hand, it forces talents to artificially generate new quality, unnatural productivity growth, which in the long term can lead to professional burnout or premature career path changes,” emphasizes Tomasz Walenczak.
In the era of daily use of advanced tech solutions, cybersecurity should not be overlooked. Finding IT workers with the desired profile is more important than ever before. In 2024, the global shortage of cybersecurity experts reached 4 million. Despite global economic uncertainties, in that same year, as many as 76% of IT industry employers still struggled with recruitment difficulties to employ adequately skilled new technology workers.
Career in the Face of Changes: Time for Plan B, C, and D
In the coming years, 69 million new jobs will be created worldwide, and 83 million will be abolished (source: WEF). Experts predict that compared to 2016, the required skills will change by half within the next few years, and generative AI is expected to accelerate this evolution even more (source: Microsoft). Most people go through this period of professional transition unprepared and without a clear strategy. 7 out of 10 leaders believe that their teams have a career plan, while only 27% of employees agree. This suggests that professional development will become even more significant, along with gaining skills, new knowledge, and an approach conducive to engagement and productivity.
Green Business Transformation
The growing pressure from consumers, investors, and also governments for action on climate change is inevitably accelerating the “green” business transformation. This leads to even 30 million new jobs being created by 2030, according to the WEF. In critical industries such as manufacturing, IT, and operations, employers estimate that up to 57% of skill sets will need to change to meet the requirements of sustainable development (source: ManpowerGroup). Unfortunately, many organizations worldwide are warning of the challenge of a talent shortage with desired credentials, and its translation into the companies achieving declared sustainable development goals.
As Tomasz Walenczak notices, the green business transformation, in connection with new EU regulations, increased requirements from the market, employees, and business, becomes increasingly important. “Candidates in recruitment processes are increasingly paying attention to potential employers’ actions towards ESG, sustainable development, and the introduction of new laws creates demand for new jobs related to this area. Therefore, experts with appropriate knowledge in the field of sustainable development, modern green solutions, reporting, or monitoring such activities can count on many exciting job offers,” concludes the CEO of ManpowerGroup in Poland.
ManpowerGroup contributed to this report.
Source: https://ceo.com.pl/stres-elastycznosc-ai-jak-bedzie-wygladac-rynek-pracy-w-2025-roku-23536
