In a recent interview with FORTUNE, Adam Grant, Glassdoor’s Chief Worklife Expert, shared his perspective on three pivotal workplace trends reshaping how we think about careers, leadership, and workplace community. He offered a thoughtful analysis of where work is headed, drawing from his extensive research and observations of emerging patterns in the post-Great Resignation landscape. From the rise of career reinvention to evolving workplace dynamics with Gen Z and a renewed focus on community building, Grant shed light on the transformative shifts shaping our professional lives. Here are the key trends he's watching.
1. More workers will consider career pivots.
People, historically, have often taken a new year as a chance for a fresh start. But post-Great Resignation, we’re in a moment where people are both willing and able to rethink their careers in ways that they didn’t before. The fact that there are lots of remote jobs means that there are lots more possibilities available to you outside of the place where you happen to live. The fact that you can vet what employers are like by taking a tour through what their Glassdoor reviews look like. That opens up opportunities and ideas for people that they weren’t considering before. And so I guess this is a continuation of a trend that’s been happening for a long time around career mobility increasing, but I think it’s also an acceleration of that trend where people are excited to reinvent themselves. A lot of people are tired of working for abusive bosses, miserable jobs, and toxic cultures. I think 2025 may well be the year where many people say “I’ve had enough. I’m taking my career into my own hands.”
2. Gen Z will become more vocal about workplace operations.
There is a growing expectation among Gen Z, let’s just say Gen Z, writ large, that they’re going to have a voice in how their organization is run. And there is a fair amount of backlash from executives around that saying, “Who are you, 22-year-old? it’s not your place to dictate our vision and corporate strategy.” And I think there’s been a tug-of-war going on for a while on that, and I think that the leaders who succeed in managing that dynamic are the ones who manage to convey to their people that they have a say, but that doesn’t mean they’re always going to get their way. That’s a set of skills that a lot of leaders are going to need to invest in, around explaining the rationales for why an idea was not adopted, while still allowing people to feel that they did have a voice. And that’s going to be a tightrope walk.
3. Workers will put a greater emphasis on community.
People—particularly job seekers—are going to start to place more of a premium on community at work. We know that there’s something of a loneliness epidemic going on. We know that the traditional institutions that used to provide community, whether it’s neighborhoods or places of worship or bowling leagues, they’re kind of gone, or at least much less popular than they once were. And so for community and friendship outside of your family, the workplace is the place that’s left. I’m guessing we’re going to see more organizations making the case of, “Hey, this is a place where you can belong, you can make friends, you can feel part of a team.” And they’ll do that because it’s a great way to attract applicants, but also because it’s a way to get people into the office, which has been a struggle as well.
This content was originally published by FORTUNE. Read the full article here.