HR experts predict 2025’s biggest work trends, including ‘corporate catfishing’ and ‘burnout-blocking’

Molly Johnson-Jones, LinkedIn Top Voice & CEO of flexible careers specialists, Flexa, issues a warning about the trend for ‘corporate catfishing’:

“Many employers want the talent attraction benefits of flexible work, but not all can or want to accommodate different ways of working in reality. This can make for false claims and misleading job adverts. The Employment Rights Bill will only increase cases of ‘corporate catfishing’. Since new flexible working rights will give all employees the default right to request and access flexible work, all employers will technically be ‘open to flexible work’. Flexible job seekers will need to be vigilant, whilst employers will face unhappy hires if they aren’t more transparent.

“At the same time, a perfect storm is paving the way for hybrid work to thrive in 2025. Younger workers who studied remotely are helping to drive up demand for a greater level of flexibility than businesses are able or willing to give. But grads won’t be able to live with their parents and hold out for fully remote roles forever. With the economy laying low for the foreseeable, a lot of employees and employers are going to find that they have to meet in the middle and embrace a mixture of home and office based work that works for both sides.”

Khyati Sundaram, LinkedIn Top Voice & CEO of ethical AI hiring experts, Applied, says ChatGPT will be the death of CVs – and it’s something to celebrate:

“ChatGPT will be the death of CVs. This will change the game for the better for both sides. The proliferation of AI-assisted applications is already leading many employers to switch from traditional hiring processes to fairer and more accurate skills-based hiring processes. The UK Government, Unicef UK, and HarperCollins are amongst them.

“Skills-based hiring starts with anonymous applications that consist of skills-based questions. Ethical AI can help hiring teams make this process even more efficient and objective. Then, additional tests which don’t easily lend themselves to ChatGPT use – like cognitive ability tests and numerical aptitude tests – can be used to further filter for top talent. For candidates, this will create more opportunities to demonstrate their skills in areas they excel in, and find roles which they will genuinely be able to thrive in. For employers, it will separate out true talent from tech.”

Gareth Burrows, founder of the provider of HR software for British SMEs, Breathe HR, predicts the rise of ‘burnout blocking’ tech amongst stretched teams:

“Scaled-back benefits and skeleton teams will characterise 2025 as hiked-up taxes and the cost of implementing new employment rights force businesses – especially SMEs – to tighten purse strings. So, as employers focus on new, cost-effective ways to support stretched staff and protect them from the growing mental health crisis, burnout-proofing will take centre stage.

“Employers will shift from reacting to burnout to creating cultures and policies which proactively safeguard against it. Inspired by the government’s plans, many will introduce right-to-disconnect policies to improve staff’s work-life balance. Research from Breathe HR shows that most workers don’t take their full annual leave allowance. So, others will start encouraging staff to take more time off (which is important for wellbeing), using HR software to monitor when employees haven’t taken enough holiday. HR tech will also be increasingly relied upon to ensure compliance, and help teams drive through policy changes that will protect staff’s wellbeing and help them to thrive.”