Workplace trends in 2025
Natasha Stanley, head coach at Careershifters, considers three workplace trends you can expect when entering the workforce and offers advice on preparing and setting yourself up for success
You're likely to live longer than previous generations
Great news, right? However, it also means you'll be working longer, so staying in your current role or industry forever is unlikely. You'll probably make multiple career changes in your lifetime.
According to LinkedIn's Workplace Learning Report 2024, nearly three-quarters (74%) of Gen Z professionals expect to change careers at least three times during their working lives.
And the world of work is evolving fast. Companies are experimenting with new working models that combine different versions of flexible, hybrid and remote working arrangements, artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming industries from pharmaceuticals to marketing, and access to learning is easier than ever.
Your career security will come from adaptability and proactively developing self-knowledge about what energises you, how you work best and what you can contribute. Find out what jobs might suit you by taking the Job Match quiz.
More options for how you work
Since the pandemic, how you choose to work is almost as big a decision as what you decide to do.
For instance, you might choose the traditional 9-5 office standard, with its clear boundaries and in-person collaboration, or you might thrive more in a hybrid or flexible working environment.
Perhaps you'll pursue a portfolio career, with multiple sources of income, mixing a few different professional roles to create financial resilience and constant variety.
Or you could enter the ever-expanding gig economy, juggling your own time and projects in a way that works for you. Explore freelancing and consider if self-employment is right for you.
With all these possibilities, there's never been a better time to design a working life that suits your unique preferences and strengths.
Fulfilment at work is a big conversation
All these options mean that Gen Z is entering the workforce with:
- a greater sense of autonomy
- a strong commitment to wellbeing - read about looking after your mental health at university
- and a desire to find work that aligns with their beliefs.
According to Gen Z: Redefining the Future of Work, a study by the Top Employers Institute:
- 80% of Gen Z respondents felt that employers should continuously upskill their staff
- 62% would accept a lower salary for a better work/life balance
- 82% want flexibility in their schedule
- 83% say employers have a responsibility to support psychological wellbeing.
Forward-thinking companies are responding by:
- reimagining benefits packages to include incentives such as health insurance, student loan assistance, financial wellness planning, and lifelong learning opportunities
- creating more personalised development paths
- and building an organisational culture that supports mental health.
Unlike Baby Boomers, who largely prioritised stability, and Millennials, who sought purpose, Gen Z focuses on integrating their work into a balanced, fulfilling life.
How to set yourself up for success
Get comfortable with the process of change
We're not taught how to navigate change at school. However, the ability to course-correct, make decisions in the face of uncertainty, and respond with an open mindset to new situations will be vital throughout your career.
You should:
- speak to people with varied career paths and learn from their experiences - listen to 蘑菇视频黄片 Future You podcasts
- practice trying new things and feeling like a beginner
- look for opportunities to enter new environments and build confidence in unfamiliar situations.
The more you experience change intentionally, the easier it becomes to handle unexpected shifts confidently.
Build diverse communities
The more diverse people you connect with, the more options you'll have.
- Make friends with those who do very different things to you.
- Connect with people much older and younger - in and outside your work.
- 2024 research from LinkedIn found that only a fifth of people from Gen Z have spoken to someone over 50 at work in the past year. Break the mould.
- Find mentors in different industries - discover how to find the right mentor.
- Build relationships with people with different backgrounds, values, or communication styles than you and stay in touch with them.
We can always improve our communication with people from different generations. People often gravitate towards like-minded thinkers, but that doesn't stretch us.
When things change around you, your multi-generational network's insights, knowledge, and connections will be an invaluable resource.
Understand how you work best
Does your brain work best in the mornings or the afternoons? Are you an out-loud thinker or a solo ponderer? Do you thrive in varied, fast-moving environments, or are you the steady, quiet hand that anchors the ship?
- Keep a work journal for a month, noting when you feel energised or drained.
- Identify patterns in your productivity and satisfaction.
- Practise talking about what you've learned.
The more you can articulate how you work best, the better your workplaces can support you and the more confident you'll feel advocating for your career choices and preferences.
Embrace the journey ahead
Your future world of work is more complex and fluid than previous generations have encountered. But it's one where, compared to your grandparents' or even your parents' experience, you can craft a career that truly reflects who you are and what matters to you.
Be prepared to explore your ability to navigate change, understand your working style, and learn to collaborate with new people and ideas. This will allow you to build the resilience and adaptability required by your working life.
After all, your career won't be a straight line, but take it from me as a career change expert - that's precisely what makes it exciting.
Find out more
- Discover the skills employers want.
- Read about the secret to work/life balance.
- Explore the workshops and courses at Careershifters.