A new report on employee experience trends in 2025 revealed that young UK workers will be optimistic and engaged next year.
Qualtrics’ research found that employees aged under 25 are optimistic about their career and their organization.
The report 2025 Employee Experience Trends suggests that the best employers will continue to make work less chaotic. Employees are feeling under pressure due to the rapid pace of change. They need support in order to maintain their engagement and wellbeing.
Around 2/5 (39%) of the workers polled felt they were being pressured to be more efficient. This was attributed to keeping up with change (40%), or strategic changes in the business (39%). A third of respondents (34%) attributed this to external economic pressures. Nearly a quarter of respondents (23%) attributed it to the introduction of artificial intelligent (AI).
Dr Benjamin Granger is the chief workplace psychologist for Qualtrics. He said, “Over and again, employees have stated that they need their organisation to help them complete their work as they balance their current workload while adapting to rapid changes in the workplace.” The psychological contract between employers and employees has changed. Organisations need to adapt to the expectations of modern employees.
The study also revealed that entry and exit interviews are ruining employee experiences. Respondents rated the interview and application process as the worst aspect of their experience. This puts employers’ reputations at risk.
A second trend for 2025 is that organisations will prioritise short-term gains, and lose employee trust in the process. Two thirds of respondents (66%) have confidence in the competence and integrity of senior leaders, but only half (52%) believe they will put the well-being of their workforce ahead short-term gain.
Granger said: “Trust holds people together in organisations, but is harder to earn and maintain when there is disruption and uncertainty.” Leaders who are able to earn the trust of their employees go beyond tracking operational metrics. They monitor employee feelings and increase trust-building behavior and communication in difficult times.
The top UK trend for 2019 is that people will outpace organisations in AI. Over half of the respondents said their employers don’t offer AI training and enablement (56%), and 54% said their company doesn’t have clear AI ethics, guidelines or principles (54%).
Nearly a quarter of these workers (24%) are actively using AI-based tools that they have found, and around two out of five (39%) use AI every day or weekly.
Granger said: “There is a growing willingness and readiness among employees to leverage AI, even though it’s not explicitly supported by the business. This poses significant risks for employees, customers and organizations alike. It is clear that many workers are looking to AI to enhance their work. Organisational leaders should provide tools that have been approved and clear guidelines to help employees and customers benefit from these technologies.
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