Employees in the UK would like to return to their original tasks. The 2025 Employee Experience Report by Qualtrics, based on insights from over 35,000 employees from 23 countries, shows that employees are longing for a 9-to-5 workplace.
The five UK employee experiences trends for 2025 include:
- The best employers in 2025 will reduce chaos at work: The pace of change puts pressure on employees and they require organisational support to remain engaged and maintain well-being.
- Young workers are (surprisingly) optimistic… for now: Workers under 25 are highly engaged, and have a positive view of the success of their companies as well as themselves.
- Entry and exit are ruining employee experiences: Employees rate the interview and application process as the worst parts of the employee journey and risk company reputations.
- Putting short-term gain above employee well-being will cost you your long-term relationship with employees. Although most employees trust their leaders’ competence and integrity, only 52% of them believe that they would put employee well-being before short-term gain.
- PSA – Your employees are ahead of you in AI: Only half of employees have ethical guidelines and training on AI.
By 2025, the best employers in the world will reduce work chaos
Employees are more engaged in a workplace that is constantly changing when the culture and processes of their employer empower them to adapt and meet customer needs. The highest predictor of employee happiness is a culture of continuous improvement. Yet, this is the least rated metric among global employees.
Some 39% of workers report feeling pressured to increase productivity. This is attributed to several factors, including keeping up with change (40%), strategic changes in the business (39%), economic pressures from outside (34%) and AI (23%). Employees who feel under pressure are less engaged, and they have a reduced sense of wellbeing.
” Employees have repeatedly said that they need help from their organizations to get their work done, as they balance their current workload and adapt to rapid workplace change,” Dr. Benjamin Granger said, Chief Workplace Psychologist at Qualtrics. ” Employees’ expectations of modern workplace have changed. Organisations need to adapt to this new psychological contract.
Young employees (surprisingly) optimistic…for the moment
They are very engaged. They are motivated to make changes and have a positive outlook for their future as well as the company’s. In the UK, older employees are less likely to feel capable of making changes in the workplace. Fewer workers over 25 believe they can change the way things are done (59%) and have seen positive changes as a result employee surveys (59%).
| Engaged | Belief in the values of an organisation | Can you challenge the traditional ways of doing things? | You believe the organization has a bright future | We are proud of our efforts to positively influence the world | They feel they can achieve their career goals | Positive changes have been observed as a result previous employee surveys | |
| 18-24 years of age | 70% | 79% | 67% | 73% | 71% | 74% | 69% |
| 25+ years of age | 70% | 79% | 59% | 70% | 69% | 69% | 59% |
| Differences | 0 | 0 | -8 | -3 | -2 | -5 | -10 |
Even when their employer surpasses their expectations, young workers are still less likely to plan to stay at a company longer than three years. Over half of young workers (56%) who feel their expectations have been exceeded do not intend to stay at the company for more than three years. Only 24% of older workers have long-term plans when their expectations are met.
This could be due in part to demographic trends. Some young people are more flexible and willing to make major life changes. Leaders who want to retain the brightest and most valuable members of this cohort can prioritize the factors that have the greatest impact on their retention.
Leaders who accept stereotypes that young workers are entitled, lazy or disengaged do their organizations a disservice. Granger says that crushing the optimism of young workers in the workplace can be counterproductive, particularly when this optimism can easily be nurtured to bring out new ideas and creativity. ” Giving them the opportunity to share their ideas, and stretch their skill can win talented workers early on in their career and create lasting goodwill towards the company even after they leave.”
Entry and exit are ruining employee experiences.
Employees who are with their company less than six month have a low intention to stay (38%) compared to employees who have worked with the company longer (57%). Why? Companies are destroying the morale of their new employees before they have even started by offering a poor candidate experience. The candidate experience ranks lowest out of several important phases in the employee journey such as onboarding or changing roles, or applying for promotion.
Employees also did not like the experience of leaving a company. These people may no longer be active at a company but their last impression will influence how they look back on their experience.
Granger said, “Potential employees and former employees are often forgotten when it comes down to the reputation of a company. Organisations take unnecessary risks by failing to address their bookend experiences.” “Candidates or former employees have the power to influence other people’s opinions of a company, whether they are good or bad. Organisations who invest in first and last impressions have a competitive advantage when it comes to attracting future talent. Some of them even return with new skills and experience.
| Interviewing or applying for a new job | Start a new job in a different organisation | Changes in roles within an organisation | How to leave a job | |
| Exceeds expectations | 18% | 44% | 40% | 17% |
| Expectations not met or exceeded | 32% | 15% | 13% | 34% |
Your short-term gain is costing your long-term relationship
Only 52% of employees think that senior leaders will prioritize employee wellbeing over short-term gain.
The global economy is uneven and customer loyalty is declining. However, the success of a company on the long term will be at risk if the leaders overlook the importance that employee trust plays.
“Trust holds people together within organisations, but is harder to earn and keep during times of disruption,” explained Granger. Most leaders are comfortable with tracking operational metrics. However, those who earn employee’s trust monitor their employees’ feelings and increase communication and trust-building behaviour during difficult times.
Employee engagement and employee well-being are highly correlated to trust. Employees who are trusted by their leaders will be more receptive to change, more open to communication, and act in ways which ultimately benefit the organization.
Employees are more likely than not to trust their managers when:
- Senior Leadership responds to employee feedback
- Senior leadership values diverse perspectives, even if different
- This company has a culture of openness and honesty.
- Employees can be productive by using the right work processes
- The company is constantly improving the way work gets done
PSA – Your people are ahead of you in AI
As AI adoption increases, employees are outpacing employers. However, the enablement of AI is still lagging behind. Over half of employees claim their companies do not provide AI training and enablement (56%). A similar number also say that their company does not have clear AI ethics, guidelines or principles (54%).
Nearly a quarter of these employees (24%) use AI tools they have found on their own, rather than tools provided by the business. This means that they have likely not been approved or vetted by IT or security departments and may lack safeguards for protecting company or customer information. Over a third of employees (39%) say that they use AI every day or weekly. Employees who regularly use AI are more optimistic about its potential to improve their jobs than those who don’t.
Granger said: ” Workers are increasingly willing to use AI, even when it’s not explicitly supported by their company,”. This poses significant risks for employees, customers and organizations. It is clear that many workers are looking to AI to enhance their work. Organisational leaders should provide tools and guidance for these technologies to be used without putting customers or the company at risk .”
Visit the website to view the complete report and methodology.
HR News published the first version of this article Cut Chaos: Qualtrics Announces Top employee experience trends for 2025.
