The World of Work in 2025 and Beyond: Team Flow Institute Fellows Predict Major Shifts

The World of Work in 2025 and Beyond: Team Flow Institute Fellows Predict Major Shift

Organizations are navigating new and unprecedented challenges that will significantly impact the world of work in 2025 and beyond. The Team Flow Institute Fellows share their insights and predictions in this report. They paint a picture of significant transformation across multiple dimensions, from organizational culture to artificial intelligence adoption, against a backdrop of economic uncertainty, societal shifts, and workers’ search for meaning and value in their work.

2025 Marked By a Disengaged and Distrustful Workforce 

According to the Team Flow Institute Fellows, several factors will contribute to increased worker disengagement in 2025, including job insecurity, dissatisfaction, workplace culture, and declining trust.  

More than 40% of companies are planning to reduce their workforce in the next five years as a result of a business model transformed by AI, according to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs report, and more than half of all employees are worried about losing their jobs due to AI. (Deloitte, 2023). 

According to the 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer, automation and lack of training are a significant factor in workers’ fears about job insecurity.

In addition to job insecurity from AI, an estimated 70% of employers are issuing return-to-office (RTO) mandates in 2025, a move perceived by many to be an attempt to downsize organizations’ workforces due to economic pressures – another key factor in worker’s job insecurity, according to Edelman. While workforce reductions in response to RTO policies may provide organizations with a short-term financial boost, they could also have a significant longer-term negative impact, including retention and quality of talent, a reduction in innovation, and the ability to maintain service levels and competitiveness.

Workplace culture across many organizations is suffering due to RTO mandates and the recent abandonment of their commitments to create more diverse, equitable, and inclusive workplaces. Team Flow Institute Fellow Shel Holtz points out that, much like RTO mandates, the anti-DEI backlash is fundamentally anti-business, citing extensive data showing that diverse companies, boards, leadership, and teams produce higher profits and better innovation. This suggests that companies making decisions based on activist shareholders’ demands, pressure from the federal government, and political and cultural positioning rather than on business outcomes will likely put organizations at a competitive disadvantage. Senior Fellow and Director of Research Jen McClure adds that the workplace landscape of 2025 is marked by growing polarization, noting an increasing divide between companies taking opposing stances on this wide range of issues. 

This combination of factors has contributed to a disengaged and distrustful workforce. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer notes a steep decline in employer trust globally. 

Employee engagement in the United States is at the lowest level in a decade, according to a new Gallup study – with only 31% of employees being engaged and 17% actively disengaged. Gallup reports that disengagement is exceptionally high among workers under the age of 35 and those in finance, technology, transportation, and professional services.

A distrustful and disengaged workforce will be one of the most significant challenges organizations face, yet ironically, they have created these challenges through their decision-making, policies, and governance.

Economic Insecurity and Its Impact

Team Flow Institute Fellow Steve King provides a more somber outlook for 2025. “Economic insecurity and uncertainty have been growing for a long time, and AI adds another layer. We’re in a period of massive geopolitical unrest and insecurity. People, managers, and companies react by seeking safety. The job market will not be good. The economy will be okay, but it will be a very tough year from a security standpoint, both at a personal and national level,” he predicts.

The Return-to-Office Conundrum Deepens

The tension between traditional office work and flexible arrangements will intensify in 2025, according to the Team Flow Institute Fellows. With office vacancy rates already hitting historic highs above 20%, they predict this trend will worsen before it improves. Holtz notes that return-to-office mandates are causing companies to “hemorrhage their top talent,” with approximately 20% of workers admitting to violating these directives. Nearly half of workers who currently work from home at least sometimes say they’d be unlikely to stay at their job if they could no longer do so, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center.

The impact extends beyond employee resistance. Property developers face mounting pressure as building owners default on mortgages due to declining occupancy. According to Holtz, this has sparked a wave of “office-to-X conversions,” where vacant office spaces are being transformed into residential units, storage facilities, and even recreational spaces like pickleball courts.

However, a more nuanced approach to returning to the office may emerge. Team Flow Institute Fellow Lisen Stromberg predicts a shift toward customized return-to-office policies, with decision-making power increasingly delegated to team leaders. “Smart, agile companies are already allowing their team leaders and managers to decide what works for their team,” she observes. This flexibility could become crucial for retention, particularly for demographics like new parents who might otherwise exit the workforce.

Team Flow Fellow Zora Artis says hybrid is here to stay despite the push for full-time return-to-office from a selection of CEOs and the new U.S. federal government. Research conducted by Stanford University’s Nick Bloom shows that hybrid work is five times higher than pre-pandemic, with 68% of US firms adopting a flexible policy and 43% having a structured hybrid program. Notably, his research also reveals that employees who work from home two days a week are equally productive and less likely to resign than those forced back into the office five days a week.   

The generational divide in office preferences adds another layer of complexity. Stromberg notes that while young professionals might thrive in office environments, new parents and established workers often find remote work essential for work-life balance. This dichotomy suggests that one-size-fits-all policies may become increasingly untenable.

The Human Operating System and Organizational Structure

Team Flow Institute Fellow Rachel Happe provides deeper insight into this increasing chasm between workers and employers with a critique of traditional organizational structures, explaining, “Organizations are structured around mechanistic operating systems. The clash between what humans need to thrive and how organizations are structured and operated causes constant friction. AI and other technologies accelerate this. The cracks or gaps that used to exist to allow for humanity are disappearing, and it’s breaking people.”

Happe advocates for fundamentally rethinking organizational governance to better support humanity excellence in an increasingly automated world. She suggests that to tackle this problem of a disengaged workforce, organizations need to implement what she calls “Communities as the Human Operating System,” a governance structure specifically designed to manage human aspects of organizations. This becomes increasingly critical as AI and technology accelerate, creating more pressure on traditional systems. 

AI Will Influence Reshaping of Work Priorities and Values

Team Flow Institute Fellow Alan Berkson believes that a fundamental shift in measuring success is on the horizon. He argues that traditional productivity metrics will become obsolete as AI takes over routine tasks. “We must stop thinking about productivity and efficiency in the workplace… machines win. Game over,” he states. Instead, human workers must focus on areas where they maintain competitive advantage: creativity, intuition, strategy, and value creation. This is central to Team Flow Institute’s focus on preserving the value of human work in the age of A, as well as Happe’s related work on the human operating system governance model. 

Berkson crystallized this transformation succinctly: “My prediction is, as we see the adoption of agentive AI within the workplace, we’re going to need new modes of collaboration and interaction that leverage AI and focus on the value humans can provide in the workplace rather than the productivity. It will be the end of productivity and the rise of value.”

This rise of “agentive AI” – AI systems acting as personal assistants – could transform how we gather information and collaborate. Berkson envisions a future where AI agents collect and communicate information across peer-to-peer networks, potentially reducing dependence on traditional social media platforms for professional networking and knowledge sharing.

Stromberg also offers an optimistic view of AI’s impact on human work, emphasizing that AI enhances creativity and effectiveness rather than just productivity. She observes that people are using AI in innovative ways they never would have considered before, suggesting that AI will augment human capabilities rather than replace them entirely.

Artis notes that more organizations, particularly professional service firms, are adopting and encouraging the use of AI to reduce the impact of work overload and burnout. At EY in Oceania, staff are encouraged to record time spent using AI that they can then use for “Thrive Time.” The super users record up to seven to fourteen hours a week saved through AI use.  

Passion-Driven Work and The Democratization of Entrepreneurship

Looking beyond immediate workplace challenges, Team Flow Institute Senior Fellow Dr. Jef van den Hout sees a brighter future and suggests that AI will create more work, particularly in areas focused on environmental protection and climate innovation. “We need to clean up, innovate for a better climate, and protect our systems, our planet, and animals,” he states, predicting that AI will enable humans to tackle these crucial challenges more effectively. This perspective suggests that while AI will most likely eliminate certain types of jobs, it could also create new opportunities in fields focused on solving global challenges. Success in this new landscape will require strong team dynamics and a commitment to maintaining positive values alongside technological advancement.

Team Flow Institute Fellow Gina Debogovich agrees: “I predict that we’ll see a rise in passion-driven work. As traditional corporations don’t necessarily need as much headcount, there will be an opportunity to pursue passion-driven work, with people leveraging AI and technology to pursue meaningful projects in both for-profit and non-profit sectors.”

This trend could represent a silver lining in the changing job market, as reduced traditional employment opportunities may push more people to pursue work aligned with their personal interests and values. This has already been a central theme for younger generations of workers, as reflected in their choices and actions. AI and automation tools will make it more feasible for individuals to establish and maintain successful independent ventures.

Team Flow Institute’s co-founder and managing director, Chris Heuer highlights how AI tools enable non-technical entrepreneurs to build applications without traditional coding skills. This transformation could unlock the potential of countless innovative ideas that previously remained unrealized due to technical barriers such as the scarcity of qualified engineers. “Now, with AI tools, someone who has an idea and who conceptualizes a new economic model of value creation based on their experience and wisdom can easily learn to write clear prompts, communicate their vision, and build applications and companies quickly and inexpensively,” says Heuer.

This shift could lead to a surge in solo entrepreneurs and small businesses, fundamentally transforming the workforce landscape. However, it may also impact traditional tech roles, as the demand for developers, designers, and certain creative positions could decrease as AI capabilities expand.

The Broader Transformational Landscape

Dr. van den Hout offers an optimistic view of AI’s potential to ultimately transform the future of work for good. “AI will create more work, probably not in 2025 but in 2026. It will help us do what we must as human beings. We have so much to do to improve our world; now we can do it because we have AI. I think there will be much more work in the future, not less.”

The Bridge to Team Flow

Team Flow Institute co-founder Jaime Schwarz emphasizes the importance of addressing the fundamental disconnect between employers and employees. He observes that current workplace tensions often stem from opposing perspectives: employers lacking trust in their employees, seeking oversight through traditional office environments and proof of productivity, versus employees desiring autonomy and trust. Schwarz captures this underlying tension, saying, “This shift isn’t about any single trend, but about the difference in perspective between employers and employees.” He suggests that “Team Flow Coaches” could bridge these perspectives, helping organizations focus on their broader mission rather than getting distracted by internal conflicts. This approach could be crucial for organizations seeking to navigate the multiple challenges predicted for 2025.

The Team Flow Model

Conclusion

The Team Flow Institute Fellows’ predictions point to the nature of work undergoing a fundamental transformation – affecting where, how, and why work is done. Organizations’ success will depend on balancing technological advancement with human needs, fostering meaningful work, and creating flexible structures that support diverse working styles and foster engagement and mutual trust. If organizations can develop new value-based assessments over traditional productivity and efficiency metrics, employers and employees can create a new paradigm of work that emphasizes unity, human connection and communication, teamwork, trust, and collective ambition – the foundational characteristics of Team Flow.

The challenges ahead are significant, from managing the impact of AI to addressing workers’ lack of engagement and trust, to economic, political, and societal uncertainty. However, these changes also present opportunities for innovation in how we structure work, measure success, and create value – and the role that organizations can play in society. Organizations that successfully navigate these transitions while focusing on human needs and value creation will be best positioned for success in 2025 and beyond.

Editor & Contributors 

Editor: Jennifer McClure, Senior Fellow & Advisor

Team Flow Institute Founders: 

Chris Heuer, Co-founder & Managing Director

Jaime Schwarz, Co-founder

Team Flow Institute Senior Fellow & Advisor:

Dr. Jef van den Hout, Senior Fellow & Advisor

Team Flow Institute Research Fellows:

Zora Artis

Alan Berkson

Gina Debogovich 

Rachel Happe

Shel Holtz

Steve King

Lisen Stromberg

Note: This paper was written with the help of Claude.ai’s generative AI technology to aid with editing and some content creation. Any AI-generated content has been reviewed, adjusted and enhanced with experience and insights by a human editor to ensure accuracy, relevance and authenticity.

in the flow, together

Stay in
the flow!

We don’t spam!
Read our privacy policy for more info.

Share with:

You May Like

The Rise of the Team Flow Facilitator

Team Flow Facilitators are guides who can analyze team challenges, identify mismatches in expectations, and implement interventions to get everyone working in sync. As discussed in “Collaborative Productivity is the Key to Making Remote Work,” they promote inclusive participation while aligning the team to shared purpose and priorities.

Read More
Team Flow Institute Grand Opening

Join Us to Redesign How We Work: @ Team Flow Institute

The Team Flow Institute seeks to convene professionals, researchers, and leaders to identify practices that enable team flow across different industries, functions, and contexts. We also will define, design, and develop a new role, the Team Flow Facilitator, to guide organizations in effectively facilitating teamwork and building aligned cultures in distributed environments. Join our community for free today.

Read More

Comments

Join our free community to comment.