As we approach 2025, the workplace continues to transform rapidly. Shifting work patterns and employee expectations, technological advancements, and evolving business needs are just some factors shaping workplaces this year. From hybrid work models and AI-driven tools to a stronger emphasis on employee well-being and sustainability, where and how we work are being redefined.
What trends can workers expect to see in 2025? Whether you’re a business leader, facilities manager, HR professional, or simply interested in the evolving nature of the workplace, these insights will help you navigate the changing landscape and foster a resilient and agile workplace.
1. More Hybrid, Less Fully Remote
What are the hybrid work trends in 2025? How will remote work change in 2025? Amazon and Dell have gone back to full-time in-office mandates. On the other end of the spectrum, Spotify and Airbnb have doubled down on their remote-first policies. But these are just the extremes, and data tells us that somewhere in the middle is where most organizations fall into.
Workers like meeting in person from time to time. Morning Consult’s latest State of Workers report found that overall sentiment for hybrid work is trending upward from last year, while workers’ preference for fully remote work is declining. Employees are less likely to prefer remote work (23%) and more likely to want to work in a hybrid model (29%) than they did a year ago.
“The proportion of vacancies offering hybrid working is at an all-time high, with more than one in five advertised job ads in the UK in July 2024 specifying a hybrid option - cementing its position as the new standard of working.” - James Neave, Head of Data Science at Adzuna
The desire for hybrid working is also true for the next generation of workers. A survey from Bright Network found over 90% of students want to work in the office at least two days a week, with the desire for more opportunities to learn from others, build professional networks, and engage in social activities. As such, hybrid models will continue to be the most popular working model among organizations, and company culture will evolve to incorporate both in-person and virtual events.
2. Office Vacancy Decreases, Rent Growth Picks Up
The US office vacancy rate hit a record high at 20.1% this year, according to Moody’s. And while Moody’s CRE anticipates another six to eight quarters of feeble performance, the vacancy rate will eventually decline, and rent growth will increase significantly. Part of this will be due to the availability of new office spaces, as many currently are being reused and new rental properties aren’t being built.
Another factor leading to rent growth pick-up is the expected growth in employee headcount. According to JLL’s 2024 Future of Work Survey, more than 60% of commercial real estate operators expect increased workplace utilization over the next five years, despite facing challenges in long-term planning. 43% of organizations expect the number of days in office to increase by 2030—though still within a hybrid workplace strategy for many—further leading to the need for more space.
3. Flexible Work Schedules Become More Prevalent
If hybrid work has taught us anything in the past few years, it’s that workers want flexibility. 57% of workers expect increased flexibility and highlight that this is one of the prerequisites they consider before applying for a job, stating they would leave their current employer in favor of a location-flexible or remote role.
That may mean flexibility in not just work location but also work hours. According to a Future Forum survey, schedule flexibility is a higher priority for most employees than location flexibility. 93% of desk-based workers desired schedule flexibility compared to 81% who desired more location flexibility. Going into 2025, what flexible work means remains to be fully defined.
The traditional 9-to-5, five-day workweek will also be challenged, with more companies trying and even adopting four-day work weeks, staggered schedules, and fully flexible hours. Moving forward, more workers may also opt to work earlier and later throughout the day with a break in between to attend to other life needs.
4. Office Redesigns Around Specific Use Cases
There will be an increased need to build resilient and agile workplaces. Facilities will be designed with resilience in mind, including flexible office configurations that can be easily re-arranged. Organizations must prepare for rapid changes in space needs due to fluctuating occupancy rates, ensuring that office layouts can adapt quickly.
“Everybody’s moving or downsizing space. They are rethinking the way that their spaces are reconfigured. It’s not just having a space for someone to sit, but having collaborative spaces, places where people can disconnect a little bit from everything that’s going on around them.” - Mayra Portalatin, VP of Facilities Services at NVE, Inc.
New working patterns have also made it so that office redesigns need to be better tailored to workers' personal needs and preferences to support productivity. Gensler’s research found that these four types of spaces are essential to help workers do their best work: spaces for creative group work, individual spaces, spaces to reflect and restore, and areas to refresh and recharge.
Read more: From Mandate to Magnet: Office Design for Great Hybrid Workplaces
Organizations must consider how space design can accommodate various work styles. That means adapting work environments to suit individual needs with automation and AI and helping organizations personalize temperature, lighting, and even desk configurations. This customization will increase comfort and productivity in hybrid and flexible workplaces.
5. Shift Toward Decentralized Offices
The rise of flexible work has and will continue to lead to decentralized offices. Decentralization can refer to the physical layout of a company’s office space or how a company is structured.
Regarding physical layout, examples of decentralized office spaces include satellite offices or regional workspaces closer to where employees live. As such, satellite offices, coworking spaces, and regional hubs will become more common as companies move away from large central offices. With more companies embracing nontraditional workspaces, facilities managers will be tasked with managing multiple, smaller locations. This shift will require greater coordination and use of cloud-based systems for oversight and maintenance.
“Because of the type of work our employees do, we didn’t need a traditional space to come into, but there were still meetings requiring confidentiality and collaborative work that called for in-person gathering spaces.” - Vita Minas, Vendor Development Manager at Autovista Group
See how Autovista transformed their office spaces into “Hangouts” to facilitate collaborative work.
In terms of company structure, decentralization refers to the process of delegating day-to-day operations and decision-making to managers further down the chain, leading to more agile decision-making. Organizations will shift to a decentralized structure, where employees are encouraged to become independent thinkers and participate in decision-making at all levels. Decentralized structures can boost productivity and engagement in hybrid settings by encouraging workers to be more invested in the overall business goals and holding them accountable for their work.
Watch: How Facilities Director George Alvarado trains his team for more effective hybrid working
6. AI Automates Tasks To Enhance Productivity
Nearly 70% of managers report increased team productivity over the past year (Robert Half). AI plays a big role, with 36% of workers reporting improved efficiency due to emerging technologies such as generative AI. With such a positive boost to productivity, it’s no surprise that more and more workers are using AI in everyday tasks. The proportion of British people who use generative AI at work has increased by 66% in only a year (Deloitte).
In 2025, AI will become more integrated into daily tasks, from automating administrative duties to providing advanced data analysis. For example, organizations can use AI-powered tools to analyze productivity patterns and understand employees’ work patterns better. That can provide information like areas of improvement and more tailored ways to help employees work more productively. Employees will work alongside AI tools for everything from scheduling to creative tasks.
“Using AI to screen resumes, match candidates, and schedule interviews gives hiring managers and HR teams more time for interviews and company-culture matching.” - Kara Hertzog, President of Innovative Employee Solutions
Read more: How AI Is Revolutionizing the Modern Workplace
7. Tech Continues To Keep Workers Connected
Over 85% of organizations identify increased adoption of new technologies and broadening digital access as factors most likely to drive organizational transformation (World Economic Forum). According to a Cisco 2024 Hybrid Work survey, nearly two-thirds of employees want better technology and infrastructure to accommodate different types of work and activities.
“The technology broadly available to us is going to evolve so much. The ability to record conversation, distill conversation, turn that into action items, and spread that out to a team—that’s going to become really important in hybrid environments.” - Rob Sadow, CEO & Co-founder of Flex Index
Tools like virtual whiteboards, video conferencing, and holographic displays will enable seamless collaboration among remote and hybrid teams. Companies will use more virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) technology, combining the real world with a virtual world to create enhanced visuals. These technologies will help bridge the gap between physical and virtual workspaces.
Watch: Facilities Chief Christa Dodoo on using technology to connect people, place, and process
8. Increased Need To Upskill the Workforce
By 2027, businesses predict that almost half (44%) of workers’ core skills will be disrupted (World Economic Forum). AI will be a key disruptor, but other factors—like the push for green initiatives—will disrupt a quarter of jobs by 2027. That may mean both emerging and declining jobs.
In the future, tech literacy—knowing how to use new technologies to complement their work—will become ever important. Socio-emotional skills like empathy, curiosity, and resilience will also be more heavily emphasized as AI increasingly takes on analytical and technical skills. The focus will move away from traditional job titles and degrees and instead emphasize specific skills and competencies. Additionally, there may be an increase in internal mobility programs, where companies encourage employees to take on roles that match their evolving skill sets.
Watch: Capital One's André Jones on New Skills Required for Facilities Leaders
9. More Workplace Analytics and Data-Driven Workflows
The future of work will be more tech-driven. From smart building automation to data-driven space management, organizations will increasingly rely on workplace intelligence tools to drive efficiency in the modern workplace.
As hybrid work models solidify, organizations will need to repurpose office spaces to accommodate flexible seating, hot desking, and collaboration. Additionally, they will use data from occupancy sensors, Wifi tracking, and workplace management software to gain insights into how spaces are used. Workspace utilization data will guide decisions about space allocation, room scheduling, and overall capacity planning, helping to maximize efficiency and reduce wasted space.
“Where we’re headed next is so much more into predictive analysis, into machine learning in this space, really leveraging our operations and maintenance space into a way that we can use things like digital twins to help really understand, in a very predictive and proactive way, how we can maximize the effectiveness of the spaces that we oversee and lead.” - Lynn Baez, Enterprise Vice President of Facilities and Workplace at McKesson
Watch: Kisi CEO Bernie Mehl on Using Access Control Data to Improve Hybrid Work
10. More Focus On a Sustainable Future
Commercial buildings are trending toward a more sustainable future. People are demanding commercial buildings use less energy, have close to zero emissions, and a lower carbon footprint. The US Department of Energy released a national definition of a zero-emission building to guide organizations in decarbonization efforts for the future. That means spaces must be managed much more optimally, like installing energy-efficient HVAC systems, automatically turning off lights when a space is unused, or controlling the amount of AC/heating depending on the number of people in the office.
As such, sustainability will play a central role in workspace design, with more organizations adopting eco-friendly materials, energy-efficiency buildings, and hybrid work policies to reduce their carbon footprint. Facilities managers will spearhead initiatives to meet green certifications like LEED, focusing on reducing energy consumption, using renewable energy sources, and incorporating sustainable materials into the workplace design.
“Retrofitting existing buildings with modern, sustainable technologies and practices can help significantly enhance their sustainability. Even major cities are increasingly turning to retrofits over new construction as a way to further lower carbon emissions and reduce environmental impact due to the preservation of existing structures.” - Travis Dauwalter, Senior Director, Offering Management - Sustainable Building Technologies at Honeywell
11. Emphasis on Employee Well-Being and Mental Health
“The kids aren’t alright.” Nods to The Offspring aside, many employees aren’t alright either. According to an Indeed Work Well-being report, less than a third of employees thrive at work. This affects overall engagement and satisfaction, leading to decreased productivity and innovation. In the same report, 47% have increased expectations around work well-being.
Thus, companies will prioritize mental health initiatives, offering more robust programs like mindfulness, counseling services, and mental health days. Workplace design will also shift toward reducing stress, with more green spaces, quiet zones, and wellness rooms. Facilities managers will take a more active role in enhancing the employee experience, designing workspaces that promote comfort, productivity, and well-being.
“One of the main opportunities I see for facilities management in the wake of the pandemic is to take advantage of that seat at the table that we’ve been given finally and to be able to impact the workplace in ways that we were not doing in the past, especially when it comes to the well-being of the employees or the occupants of the building.” - Christa Dodoo, Head of Facilities Management Services at United Nations World Food Programme
Watch: COO Kaleem Clarkson on Maximizing The Remote Employee Experience (TREE)
12. Increased Investment in (Cyber)security
With remote and hybrid work here to stay, organizations will invest more in cybersecurity infrastructure. Hybrid work has created new security challenges—cloud-based apps used in hybrid environments pose additional remote work security threats and data management complexity; a lack of centralized physical presence complicates crisis coordination and communication; and the decentralized structure of remote work makes implementing uniform security measures and controls difficult.
All of this underlines the importance of comprehensive security solutions that address the risks associated with remote work settings. Employees will undergo continuous cybersecurity training, and companies will adopt stricter protocols to protect sensitive data in decentralized work environments. However, organizations must pay attention to more than just the virtual workplace. With the rise of connected buildings and smart devices, organizations will also need to increase their investment in security for physical spaces. This will include securing building management systems, IoT devices, and access control technologies against potential cyber threats.
Goodbye 2024 and Hello 2025!
This year, we proudly concluded: “The hybrid work debate is over.” Going into 2025, what we need are smart, actionable steps we can take right now to cultivate a powerful employee experience and build a winning modern workplace. Leveraging AI, investing in upskilling employees, improving your organization’s tech stack, and rethinking your office design and utilization should be the focus to ensure you have a resilient and ready workforce of the future.
If you’re ready to start managing your workspaces more effectively in 2025, create your free Skedda account today.