What will happen in work and business in 2025?

I was tempted to include this in the economics section, but the focus is different. The focus here is on your company, its staff and work. Economics is focused upon countries, markets and investments. The two are different. Nevertheless, it is hard not to cover the same things, as almost all business predictions seem to be focused upon AI, sustainability, uncertainty and the customer experience. That all makes sense. Anyway here are a few thoughts.

The shortlist from The Economist is talking about how companies need to invest more in tech and worry less about inflation:

1. Lower inflation encourages central banks, including America’s Federal Reserve, to cut interest rates further—and prompts consumers to go shopping.
2. IT spending rises to $3.6trn as companies tap into artificial intelligence. About 30% of large American firms invest $10m or more in AI, up from 16% in 2024.
3. Adding to worries about humans passing their prime, about 12% of them are aged over 65. Yet only 10% of global GDP goes on health care.
4. Governments push wide-ranging green schemes. Renewable electricity surges but fossil fuels still supply over four-fifths of energy needs.
5. Electric vehicles are a bright spot for carmakers, with sales rising by a quarter. But range anxiety deters many buyers and pushes others towards plugless models.
6. Airlines pledge carbon-emissions cuts, while buying new planes. As international arrivals ascend to 1.6bn, tourism generates 5-8% of all greenhouse gases.
7. Housing markets cause policymakers and regulators jitters, even as $2.1trn of property loans mature. House prices are generally high, though China’s dip.
8. Green policies drive global metals prices 7.5% higher, with demand growing for everything from car batteries to cables—and thus from copper to steel.
9. Environmental goals stimulate infrastructure spending around the world. Gross fixed investment climbs to almost $28trn, a quarter of global GDP.
10. Shippers must also navigate green trends: 40% of their emissions are brought under the EU’s emissions-trading system. Geopolitics, too, rocks boats.

Interestingly, on point #8, Coursera pick out this one in their list of 16 trends:

Sustainable practices [such as a]:

• Circular economy, when products are designed, produced, consumed, and recycled in a closed-loop system to reduce waste and maximize efficiency.
• Raising awareness of “greenwashing,” when companies over-emphasize an eco-friendly aspect of a product while overshadowing its damaging aspects.
• Regulatory compliance, requiring companies to meet eco-friendly standards through reporting, assessments, and product labelling.

I also liked their pick of the growth of immersive technologies in 2025:

Immersive technologies include augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and mixed reality (MR) and give businesses new ways to develop products, delight customers, and train employees. Examples include:

• 3D modelling for product prototyping
• Training simulations
• AR for visualizing products before purchasing
• 3D data visualization
• AR marketing campaigns

This is another area I will come back to when discussing tech trends later in the week, but it does make you wonder how banks would use AR, VR and MR, conmbined with AI.

How about a bank that sits in your Meta Orion glasses and serves you through avatars in a virtual meeting? Obviously, the bank dialogue is discussing thoughts, needs and wants for as long as you want, and nothing to do with a payment or transaction. That gets interesting.

Coursera also talk about DEI – Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion – and how that has become a key area of focus. Truth.

Another big part of change is the use of data. As Georgina Clarke over at Speaker’s Corner picks up: “ it’s important to exercise ethical data use – balancing personalisation with consumer privacy”. That’s the biggest discussion I’ve been having in 2024 and will feature as focus in my next book.

Inc.com focus upon the growth of the gig economy. This is also an interesting idea as it implies people live job-to-job rather than for a job-for-life.

The gig economy is one of the major business trends of 2025 that will play a crucial role in the business ecosystem. Companies now have more access to flexible, specialized talent as more people choose gig and freelance work over traditional 9–5 jobs. For temporary work, entrepreneurs can use this workforce, which enables them to grow their companies without hiring full-time staff.

The gig economy has made it easier for business owners to find the expertise they need. It includes graphic design, web development, or digital marketing, thanks to platforms like Fiverr, Upwork, and Freelancer. Additionally, the gig economy enables entrepreneurs to run smaller companies, which lowers expenses and increases flexibility.

The reason I find this interesting is that I grew up with the idea of a job-for-life, although I never had one. Going job-to-job seems much more uncertain or, if you look at it a different way, much more flexible. You choose when to work, for whom and for how long you want. Is that better?

Talking of work in 2025, I particularly liked this update from Enrico Letta, president of the Jacques Delors Institute and former Italian prime minister on LinkedIn. His views include far more nowstalgia, as GenZ and Millennials remember their youth (as evidenced by the sell-out tour of Oasis), but he also makes the point that Europe is struggling (did I mention this?) and recommends more focus upon:

• Integrated capital markets, creating a savings and investment union to mobilise investments for EU strategic goals;
• Enabled EU companies in finance, energy and telecommunications sectors to grow to a European scale, allowing them to compete on equal terms with US and Chinese conglomerates, which can be achieved while upholding consumer protection;
• Simplifying business operations within the single market, especially for SMEs, to allow broader access to its benefits; and
• Ensuring a "freedom to stay", offering opportunities for individuals and businesses who wish to contribute to the development of their local communities without pressuring them to relocate.

Nice idea but Europe’s regulation strangulation is going to inhibit any such ambitions of growth.

Well, that’s a cheerful start to 2025, but the themes of all business and work predictions are far more uncertainty, flexibility, sustainability, integrated AI and augmented reality. Oh, and workwise? More doing whatever it takes ...