We have a new President in 2025 and it promises to be a very pro business administration. President Trump and his potential cabinet members have committed to decreasing federal regulations over business. In addition to less federal regulations, AI will continue to allow business leaders to generate more output with less headcount in 2025, further adding to the imbalance of power between employers and employees.
So as we prepare for 2025, here are three predictions of workforce dynamics that you should start preparing for right now.
- Employee mistrust of leaders
- Businesses prioritizing employer needs over employee experienceÂ
- Mobilization and unionization of employees
Employees’ Mistrust of Leaders
Employees’ mistrust of their leaders has been brewing since the second half of 2022. It will continue to impact workforce dynamics in 2025.Â
In Emtrain’s 2025 Culture Report, we reported a 5% drop in the number of employees who believe their business leaders demonstrate personal integrity or are accountable for their decisions. Due to changes in the economy and in particular, the increased cost of capital, many employers have shrunk their workforce and cut investments in the employee experience to reduce their overall operating expenses. The result has been steady layoffs for about two years…and employees are now cynical of management actions and distrust the motivation of business leaders.
Prioritizing Employer Needs Over Employee Experience
The balance of power has definitely swung in favor of employers and away from employees and the need to support the employee experience. Many employers are opting for more cost effective employee enablement tools rather than expensive programs that support talent development, mentorship, coaching, mental wellness, DEIB and other programs that support the employee experience. At the same time, many employers are insisting on employees returning to the office and are implementing productivity tracking tools to ensure a baseline output from employees. Layer in AI as a tool to accelerate employee output and I think we’ll see a much more metrics driven performance management strategy next year where every role has been analyzed and assigned a target output or contribution rate. In other words, accountability for employee productivity will increase in 2025, and will take priority over programs and benefits supporting the employee experience.
Mobilization and Unionization of Employees
Experts are saying we are in a second Gilded Age where rapid changes in technology and decades of business deregulation have created extraordinary wealth, concentrated in the top 1% of society, increasing poverty throughout the country and the loss of the middle class. The wealth inequality is unsustainable and at a breaking point, says Janelle Jones, Chief Economist of the Department of Labor. History shows us what will happen next. When workers cannot earn a sustainable income and their health and well-being are deprioritized by the employer, they strike and push back on the employer.
In the first Gilded Age about 100 years ago, we saw labor strikes and employees mobilizing to push back on the employer and fight for shorter working hours, minimum wage and workers’ compensation to support workers who were hurt on the job. Many of our current employee protections originated from the end of the first Gilded Age.  Â
Pew Research examined the data and found that 2023 had the most work stoppages and strikes of any year since 2000. In total, 30 major actions led 464,410 workers to sit idle for a cumulative 16.7 million days. Given their shrinking power, employees will continue to unionize in 2025. Battles are raging at Amazon and an empowered UAW has its eye on expanded unionization at Tesla and Toyota. HR will need to implement unionization prevention strategies to their list of deliverables in 2025.
Conclusion
As we move into 2025, we have employees who lack trust in leaders, leaders who want to prioritize the business over employees and employees who will increasingly mobilize and unionize to push back on leaders. HR and the People function have a vital role to play. Unlike any other time in the past few decades, HR can help balance the employer/employee relationship.
Without the influence of HR, executives may overplay their hand and exercise too much power over employees. Which can motivate employees to mobilize and unionize. HR can also look for opportunities for leaders to support employees. Or make business decisions that help regain employees’ trust in their leaders and show leaders’ commitment to employees. Additionally, HR can remind leaders that people are the most expensive cost of a business. People need to be supported and set up for success which requires investment in the employee experience. In all, HR needs to be the effective mediator between employers and employees. In order to chart a balanced approach between business and labor.
