Still Relevant: Employment and Workplace Trends for 2025

This article was written before the fires erupted. At that time, its messages were more philosophical; ‘climate change’ as a social concern was more theoretical than real. Now, as its consequences devastate the LA region, these social concerns rise in prominence, especially as the region contemplates its response to its new environmental reality. Accordingly, it appears that these trends will remain operative – and perhaps take on even more significance – for the foreseeable future and will definitely be influencing the recovery processes adopted across Southern California as it moves forward through and beyond the destruction.

Despite significant alterations in global economic activities (caused by wars, weather disasters, political maneuvering, etc.), well-defined ‘trends’ still drive businesses and industries. Further, while ongoing interruptions may also affect these trends, their impetus remains influential on how, why, when, and where people get their work done. Looking into 2025, these three factors will be notably present in consumer, industry, and economic evolutions.

The ‘Sustainable’ Business

Growing environmental concerns continue to stimulate changes in how companies do their business and approach their customers. Recent research indicates that consumer preferences play a critical role in how organizations elect to direct their resources, especially companies that produce consumer packaged goods (CPG). The sale of these food and beverage products, cosmetics, cleaning and home maintenance wares, and similar personal and household items accounts for over $14 trillion annually in the U.S., which adds up to approximately two-thirds of the American Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Those transactions carry immense economic clout, and enterprises that cater to this consumer segment have learned that being responsive to their target market across all factors, including sustainability, is a sure way to win a larger share of it.    

‘Sustainability’ encompasses three tenets of action:

• ‘Environmental sustainability’ pursues the principle that today’s careful and responsible maintenance of natural resources (land, water, air, etc.) should preserve and conserve them for access and use by future generations. Reducing waste, reusing materials and resources, and limiting carbon emissions all contribute to a cleaner planet and a happier consumer base.  
• ‘Social sustainability’ is also considered to be part of a sustainable enterprise. Businesses that advertise their socially adept activities boast about workplace and organizational health and safety practices, inclusive policies that offer equal and fair opportunities to all constituents (staff and customers), and an awareness of the need for a work-life balance for their workforce.
• ‘Economic sustainability’ is achieved when companies master their social and environmental responsibilities and can authentically report that their long-term plans and actions don’t negatively impact their industry, community, or consumer base.

Globally, these three forms of ‘community care’ have already driven immense changes in the world’s trade, industry, and social sectors, and many organizations are using the concepts to build their future. However, their focus has changed: instead of strategizing what they need to do to be sustainably successful, they are now seeking to leverage their sustainability activities to improve the economic value of their products and services. As the sustainability aspect of doing business gains more traction, more companies will be asking the second question in order to attract and retain a growing consumer base.

The ‘Purposeful’ Brand

As an adjunct to sustainability, both businesses and consumers are measuring how companies act in relation to social and cultural realities as an indicator of their value to the community. ‘Brand activism‘ refers to the ‘social stance’ a particular organization takes with regard to socially sensitive topics, such as racial equity, climate change, and fair access to resources. A recent study by Deloitte revealed that one in five shoppers (19%) intentionally purchased from sellers that proclaimed their positive brand purposes and activities, while over one in four (26%) elected not to buy from organizations whose brands displayed negative behaviors in relation to social concerns. In fact, four of five study respondents (79%) said they were very aware of how their favorite merchants behaved in the world and that those realities actively escalated their perception of the enterprise as a high-quality supplier. On the other hand, one in three (31%) respondents indicated that negative behaviors exhibited by their selected merchants reduced their opinions of – and their willingness to buy from – those companies.    

Finally, of all the social concerns that are evident in today’s fraught corporate and industrial world, four in five survey respondents (81%) reported that climate change was the most significant to them. One company went all-out in redefining itself as a responsible corporate actor in today’s global economy: Unilever. After crafting its now signature line of ‘Sustainable Living Brands,’ the conglomerate saw its included brands grow in the next year by as much as 69% over the progress of its non-affiliated brands.  

The Hybrid Employment Opportunity

The COVID-19 pandemic revealed clearly that employee effort provided high corporate value regardless of the worker’s location. Computer programs were modified to provide enhanced digital security for the ‘distributed’ workforce, which, in turn, could craft a workday that best suited its personal needs and preferences. The shift away from a single, corporate-mandated workplace resulted in increased productivity for the company and enhanced job satisfaction for the employee – truly a win-win situation. ‘Going to work’ now means turning one’s attention toward a corporate ‘ecosystem’ comprised of local, on-site, and remote workers who converse and collaborate through digital channels.   

Today’s hybrid work model is fluid depending on the goals of the company, the needs of its particular workforce, and its customers’ demands.

• Companies that facilitate a flexible workplace for their employees enjoy more productivity and better returns on their workforce investments. The practice also helps to retain top talent; one survey indicated that almost half (42%) of reporting respondents said they would leave their current employment if the remote work opportunity were discontinued.
• Employees typically elect their personal preference for their work site, which may be at the formal office, in a home office, on the road, or even a combination of all three. These workers enjoy more flexibility in their work life and are able to schedule work requirements around family and other responsibilities.
• Consumers respond positively to the hybrid work model because, to them, it represents the company’s respect for its workforce. This ’employee-centric’ mindset suggests a more evolved form of corporate leadership, which is attractive to populations that aren’t impressed by legacy work systems and rigid rule sets.  

Despite the current unrest around the world, these and other workplace trends will maintain their impact as the global economy wrestles with upheaval and uncertainty across many of its sectors. In many cases, the trends themselves may prove to be the saving grace for workers, their employers, and the consumers who rely on their good products – and good works.