What workplace trends will shape the employee experience in 2025?
To discover the key focus areas people leaders should be considering in the next year, we reflected on key learnings and insights from the 2024 UK's Best Workplaces for Development鈩�, Best Workplaces for Wellbeing鈩� and Best Workplaces for Women鈩�.
Here are the trends and considerations that will make or break your workplace culture in 2025 鈥揳nd how Best Workplaces are setting the standard:
1. Recognition For All
Recognition for a job well done goes beyond merely giving your people a pat on the back. It鈥檚 about fostering a culture of appreciation that makes employees feel valued and motivated: a vital element of building an engaged and productive workforce.
Unfortunately, Great Place To Work research reveals that not all employees are experiencing recognition equally: women in the UK are generally less likely than men to feel positively about recognition at their organisations.
The gender gap in recognition isn鈥檛 due to a lack of effort by women. In fact, according to research by the University of Delaware, women are less likely than men to get credit for their work even when they present the same ideas.
To level the playing field, implementing a system of peer-to-peer recognition can be highly effective, especially as this bypasses the discomfort that some women may feel about self-promotion. At the UK鈥檚 Best Workplaces for Women, we witness this in action.
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2. Nonlinear career paths
A focus on development is a crucial element of building a thriving workplace culture. Organisations who offer employees the chance to better themselves, to learn new skills and to progress within the company enable both their people and their business to flourish.
It鈥檚 important that leaders rethink their definition of development if they want to keep up with employees鈥� expectations of the ever-evolving world of work. And the UK鈥檚 Best Workplaces for Development are at the forefront of this evolution.
The UK鈥檚 Best Workplaces for Development prove it鈥檚 vital to consider what development for all looks like. These organisations understand that development is not one-size-fits-all, and they actively support every employee to, where possible, undertake their own growth journey.
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As nonlinear career paths become more common, it鈥檚 the organisations who equip all their employees with the skills and support needed to align their job role with their personal and professional goals who will truly see the benefits.
3. Looking after the squeezed middle
Our research into wellbeing in the workplace shows that frontline managers, who are trapped between growing pressures from leaders and managing an increasingly stressed workforce, report the lowest levels of wellbeing in the workforce.
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Addressing burnout and stress is essential, but we need to focus on the root causes. Many organisations focus on dealing with the 鈥渟moke鈥� (burnout and stress) rather than the 鈥渇ire鈥� (underlying causes such as bad job design and poor internal communication).
Resources are often focused lower down the stream, which is like trying to put out a fire by blowing at the smoke. To create lasting change, the UK's Best Workplaces for Wellbeing focus on fire safety - preventing the fire from starting in the first place. This means addressing systemic issues, such as improving job design, ensuring meaningful work, and fostering a supportive culture. Moving away from superficial solutions like 鈥榩izza parties,鈥� organisations must work to address the core issues affecting employee wellbeing.
| Useful Read: Best Workplaces Publication: Development & Wellbeing
If you think you have what it takes to one of 2025's UK's Best Workplaces for Development鈩�, Best Workplaces for Wellbeing鈩� or Best Workplaces for Women鈩�, register by 7 March to be eligible. Start your journey now.
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