Human Capital Trends Report 2025
Navigating complex tensions and choices in the worker-organisation relationship
Control or empowerment? Stability or agility? Automation or augmentation? Today’s leaders are facing complex choices across work, workforce, and organisational culture. But they don’t have to be either/or choices. This year’s report aims to help leaders find traction in the tensions—and the right balance to support both business and human outcomes.
In our 2024 Global Human Capital Trends report, we introduced the need for organisations to focus on both human and business outcomes. But progress on optimising human performance has been slow, even with new technology and artificial intelligence (AI) capabilities. Plus, external and internal factors are creating tensions that complicate and inhibit decision-making.
Success moving forward will require leaders to make tough choices across multiple dimensions, asking themselves key questions across three areas, color-coded to match the corresponding trends below. How leaders answer these questions—and work to find balance in the tensions they inevitably create—can enable organisations to stop waiting and start thriving in today's fast-paced and constantly changing work environment.
Balancing tensions in the work
Work. It’s how things get done. How can leaders navigate work-related tensions to help ensure the right work is being done, and in an optimal way?
Balancing tensions in the workforce
Who’s doing the work and how we support them is important. But there are ongoing uncertainties and tensions, especially with AI taking a more prominent role. How can leaders navigate workforce tensions to better access, develop, and motivate their people?
Balancing tensions in organisation and culture
Striking the right balance in the tension between business and human outcomes is a key to unlocking human performance. How can leaders ensure they have the right structure and practices in place to enable people to perform at their best?
