What do today’s workers want? While wages remain important, flexibility, a sense of belonging and the chance to learn new skills are also high priorities, according to research from global recruiter Randstad.
With many countries facing challenges including declines in working-age populations, understanding and acting upon employees’ needs will be increasingly vital for organizations that wish to attract and retain workers.
Here, four experts share how businesses can keep their people engaged and performing at their highest level.
1. Include employees in decision-making
In the face of changing professional landscapes, providing people with the opportunity to voice opinions and concerns can ensure they feel part of the decision-making process, says Liz Shuler, President of the American Federation of Labor and Congress of Industrial Organizations (AFL-CIO).
This is particularly important when considering the implementation of new technologies and tools within an organization. Schuler recommends seeking feedback during the development phase of technology, rather than at the end, when people can feel threatened.
“The best partnerships ultimately are those that are built on a foundation of respect and [when] companies see the value of their front line workers,” she says, adding that organizations should ensure those workers have voice and agency around creating the conditions of their employment that are going to help them thrive.
2. Trust, autonomy and flexibility
Trust is also highly important in building strong relationships between employers and employees, which, according to UK research organization the Productivity Institute, is essential to organizational agility, resiliency, and viability.
Luana Ozemela is Chief Sustainability Officer at iFood, an online food ordering and delivery platform based in Brazil. She says that offering people freedom in the way they work is vital if organizations are to meet the demands of workers.
“For macro trends shaping the labour force, we are going to continue to see a big push towards more flexible jobs,” she says. “People value freedom. People value autonomy. It’s an irreversible trend. We are going to see people really wanting better jobs that also can keep the flexibility.”
3. Inspire confidence in reskillling
A common challenge for employers is when gaps emerge between the perceptions of leaders and those of workers.
Amit Sevak, Chief Executive Officer of the Educational Testing Service, says that AI upskilling is a good example of this. While many employers feel their workforce is making progress in implementing and understanding the technology, many employees have a different view.
“They feel that they’re not quite keeping up with the level of AI literacy that they need,” he says. “There’s an opportunity to help bridge some of those gaps.”
Helping people see their progress, he says, can lay the foundations that will help them develop further.
“Not being so fixed or having a fixed mindset, but more of a growth mindset or an adaptive mindset, is going to be particularly critical this year,” he says.
AI and technological literacy are anticipated to be among the fastest-growing skills between now and 2030, according to the World Economic Forum Future of Jobs Report 2025.
4. Focus on employability
Changing technology and economic disruption means that almost all industries are faced with unpredictability.
It’s for this reason that Christophe Catoir, President of HR provider and temporary staffing firm Adecco, says that providing people with trust and safety is imperative for organizations that wish to create an environment where people are more open to change.
While new skills are vital, human potential and adaptability can be more valuable in the long term.
“Protect the employability of people, not their job,” he explains. “The job will change [and] that employability will be key.”
He says sharing business strategies and results openly is a tangible way to deliver results and build trust with workers, helping them buy into development opportunities.
“If you share that with them, they will take care [of their] employability,” he adds.
Source – https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/04/work-jobs-employers-reskilling-flexibility-trust/