What if the forces reshaping your day-to-day work are already rewriting the rules for next year?

You need clear signals, not noise. This short guide pulls key trends and data into one sharp view so you can act with confidence.

Business leaders face falling engagement, rising burnout, and faster AI adoption.

This report shows where to focus in the coming year: culture, clarity, and practical AI use that boosts productivity without eroding trust.

Over a short time, the evidence points to new work models, mixed RTO response, and skills-first hiring as central shifts.

Read on to benchmark your team, map priorities, and find simple steps to protect well-being while driving measurable results.

Executive outlook: What 2026 means for your workforce, culture, and performance

Senior teams must now turn high-level ideas into concrete plans that shape daily work and outcomes. You’ll move from future-focused debate to defining measurable goals for people, process, and tools. That shift forces clear choices about priorities and pace.

Why this year marks a shift from ambition to operational reality

Data shows the stakes are real: engagement fell to 64% while burnout holds at 83%. AI lifts perceived productivity for 39% of staff, yet only 34% say role impacts were communicated clearly.

Those numbers mean you must make strategy tactical. Translate values into behaviors, map skill needs, and set short windows for testing changes.

The core question for business leaders: efficiency vs. empowerment

You’ll weigh efficiency gains from automation against the need to empower people. Centralize standards and guardrails where risk matters, and decentralize flexibility where teams deliver value.

• Clarity—tie performance metrics to cultural practices.
• Communication—explain AI roles, reskilling, and expectations.
• Cadence—use leaders to close gaps between talk and day-to-day experience.

Methodology signals you can trust

This report is built on a clear, repeatable survey that lets you compare signals across markets.

Global workforce trends referenced: who was surveyed and why it matters

DHR Global surveyed 1,500 white-collar, desk-based knowledge workers, age 21 and up, all proficient in English. The sample includes 500 respondents in North America (U.S., Canada), 500 in Europe (Germany, U.K.), and 500 in Asia (India, Hong Kong, Singapore). Percentages may not add to 100% due to rounding.

• You can rely on a balanced view across regions, functions, and industries drawn from 1,500 individuals.
• This representative sample helps you interpret outcomes beyond a single company context and spot patterns that matter to organizations.
• A consistent method enables like-for-like comparisons across North America, Europe, and Asia so you can adjust for regional nuance and observe differing impact across markets and companies.
• Focusing on desk-based roles gives a clear lens on knowledge-centric jobs where AI and digital tools drive change.

Use these benchmarks to calibrate internal surveys, set action thresholds, and measure progress so your business makes informed choices rather than reacting to anecdotes.

Culture under pressure: making values tangible in distributed work

Company values can sound strong in town halls yet feel blurry for many employees. Nearly all respondents say culture is important, but only 36% call it well-defined and performance-driving. Many workers label it reactive or vague.

You’ll face a clear gap: 77% of C-suite say culture is very important versus 37% of entry-level staff. Recognition and flexibility top requests to improve culture, and lack of reward has become a major burnout driver.

• Close the gap—translate strategy into daily norms like meeting etiquette and feedback rhythms.
• Use recognition—visible programs boost belonging for distributed teams and raise engagement quickly.
• Codify flexible options—give managers simple templates so local practices match team realities.

Track signals beyond surveys: participation in recognition, peer kudos, and voluntary culture events. Tie praise to outcomes so employees see how living the values links to growth and clearer experience across your workplace.

Engagement drops, burnout persists: the retention risk hiding in plain sight

Engagement has slipped sharply, and hidden burnout is quietly eroding your retention.

Engagement fell to 64% (very or extremely engaged) from 88% last year. Burnout remains high at 83%, and its drag on engagement rose to 52% from 34%.

What’s changed from last year—and why it matters to your teams

The slide in engagement reduces productivity and morale. That gap widens turnover risk, especially for high performers whose exit 91% of respondents say would harm the organization.

Top burnout drivers and the impact on performance and turnover

Overwhelming workloads (48%) and too many hours (40%) top the list. That makes resource planning and prioritization essential to reverse the trend.

Early-career employees: your most vulnerable retention segment

Associates (62%) and entry-level staff (61%) report engagement loss from burnout. Only 38% of C‑suite say the same, so you must close perception gaps fast.

What to do next:

• Invest in professional development—71% say it drives engagement.
• Reprioritize tasks, pause low-value work, and protect core hours.
• Build retention plans beyond pay: recognition, learning paths, and manager enablement.
• Give leaders a quarterly “burnout dashboard” to track root causes and show progress.

For guidance on building a more positive culture and improving retention, see positive work environment.

AI’s double-edged sword: productivity gains meet communication gaps

AI is already changing how people get work done, but clear signals are missing. Forty percent roughly of employees report gains today—Asia 44%, Europe 40%, North America 33%—yet many teams say the impact on roles and skills is unclear.

Where you’re seeing value today—and why clarity multiplies results

Value shows up in speed and focus. Overall, 39% report noticeable productivity gains. Firms are rebudgeting L&D (34%), shifting tasks toward strategy (27%), and creating AI oversight roles (25%).

The AI leadership gap: what you say vs. what employees hear

Only 34% say their organization explained AI’s impact on roles and skills very clearly. That gap is largest for entry-level staff, where clarity is 12%, versus 69% for C‑suite.

A prescriptive roadmap for roles, skills, and adoption

Turn gains into durable outcomes by making a simple adoption playbook. Define which roles are augmented, list first-priority skills, and show what “good use” looks like across tools.

• Map responsibilities to avoid duplication and assign data and risk ownership.
• Automate low-value tasks and measure reclaimed capacity for strategy work.
• Teach prompt patterns, data hygiene, and verification to cut rework.
• Use short pilots with clear metrics—quality, speed, satisfaction—to scale safely.

Engage leaders in two-way communication so what’s announced matches what employees actually hear and use in the workplace.

RTO reality in the United States: earn buy-in with clarity and choice

Getting teams back on-site only works when people see a clear purpose for the time they spend together. About 38% of employees report being affected by return-to-office mandates in the past two years. Only 34% fully support their employer’s approach, while 23% oppose it.

Support varies by level: 61% of C‑suite fully back their policies, but less than 40% of other roles do. Entry-level staff support sits near 30% and associates at 19%.

You’ll earn buy-in by explaining the “why”—point to collaboration moments, onboarding, creative sessions, or client work that truly benefits from being together.

• Offer structured choice: let employees pick on-site days inside a common cadence.
• Leaders must link RTO to outcomes, not preference; share concrete use cases that improve the experience.
• Document local agreements and train managers to run inclusive hybrid meetings.
• Pilot, measure attendance and engagement, and adjust supports for commute or caregiving.

Good communication and a clear purpose make flexibility feel fair. Celebrate when a purposeful mix of presence and remote work produces better results in the workplace.

workplace transformation 2026: the rise of skills-based organizations

Shifting from fixed job descriptions to skill-first staffing lets your team move faster when priorities change. Make skills the clear language you use to staff projects, reward growth, and plan development.

Data matters. McKinsey finds 71% of organizations use generative AI in at least one function, while 46% of leaders name skill gaps as a barrier to adoption. Companies such as Johnson & Johnson are mapping future skills and democratizing development to enable internal mobility.

• Shift to dynamic skills so talent flows to priority work with less friction.
• Close AI gaps by teaching AI literacy, data fluency, and prompt design tied to real projects.
• Measure progress—track skills profiles, internal moves, and time-to-fill to prove value.

Build role evolution maps and partner with vendors to embed learning into daily tools. These strategies help organizations become more resilient and give your talent clearer paths for growth and development.

Managers in the middle: enabling leadership where change actually happens

Managers sit at the hinge between strategy and daily work, and their bandwidth now determines whether initiatives succeed.

Data shows managers carry roughly 51% more responsibilities than they can handle, and more than half of business leaders view them as central to guiding generative-AI adoption. You need to act where work actually changes: at the manager level.

Start by removing low-value admin tasks so managers can coach employees and lead teams. Use automation and delegation to clear time for conversations that matter.

• Standardize rituals: short 1:1s, weekly huddles, and goal reviews so leadership behaviors scale across the workplace.
• Skill up fast: give development in coaching, feedback, and AI enablement to build manager confidence and consistency.
• Actionable data: provide managers with capacity, engagement, and skills insights they can act on.
• Clarify rights: define decision ownership so change doesn’t bottleneck and teams move faster with accountability.
• Peer communities: pair managers to share playbooks, celebrate wins, and model healthy workload practices.

Recognize managers who focus on people outcomes, not just output. That shift helps employees feel supported and makes change stick at scale.

Automation as a productivity multiplier—not a replacement

Smart automation is shifting from isolated scripts to employee-led workflows that cut errors and free creative time.

Make automation multiply results, not replace people. Start by mapping high-friction cross-functional work where errors and handoffs slow you down.

Put tools in employees’ hands so they can trigger and tailor automations. Measure time saved, error rates, and satisfaction to guide adoption.

Document handoffs between humans and systems to avoid gaps. Build a governance model that balances speed with safety, especially where data quality matters.

• Deploy automation to streamline cross-team processes and eliminate routine friction.
• Position technology as augmentation so employees see clear benefits to quality and focus.
• Use wins to reinvest time in customer insight, design, and continuous improvement.
• Share playbooks so teams can repeat success across the workplace.

Train people to spot automation candidates and submit ideas. Celebrate gains beyond speed—accuracy, predictability, and a better employee experience that compounds over time.

GenAI-powered intranets and employee experience: from portals to performance platforms

Your intranet can stop being a static portal and become a living performance platform. Forrester notes this shift, and PwC finds 80%+ of GenAI users expect efficiency gains in the year ahead. That means you should redesign for speed, trust, and relevance.

Everyday AI in flow of work: knowledge, decisions, and support

LLMs now retrieve, summarize, and contextualize enterprise data where people work. Everyday AI gives concise, sourced responses, reduces search time, and suggests next steps. This improves task completion and shows clear benefits today.

Designing intuitive, standardized interfaces to reduce cognitive load

Use design systems and consistent interfaces so people see the same patterns across tools and devices. Standardization lowers friction, reduces errors, and makes the experience predictable for all roles.

Driving adoption with DAPs and gamified learning

Digital Adoption Platforms (DAPs) guide users in real time, cutting training overhead and boosting adoption of new capabilities. Gamified micro-learning nudges people to try AI assistants and track gains.

• Transform your intranet into a performance platform for answers, decisions, and support in seconds.
• Personalize feeds and dashboards by role so users see high-value content first.
• Embed chat-based assistants for mobile and frontline needs to extend reach.
• Measure adoption via search success, task completion time, and satisfaction to show value.

Technostress, FOBO, and the new employment deal: protecting well-being while you scale

Rising digital pressure and job uncertainty are changing how people feel about their daily work. Pew Research finds 52% of workers worry about AI’s impact. The WEF reports 41% of employers plan headcount changes as AI reshapes roles. Monday.com shows 61% report moderate to severe fatigue tied to economic and AI concerns.

Rebuilding trust with communication, support, and recognition

Make well-being explicit, not optional. You’ll address technostress and FOBO by setting clear priorities and psychological-safety norms. Share timelines for role changes so employees feel less uncertain.

• Provide support: learning pathways, coaching, and public recognition that reward adaptation.
• Equip managers: give them strategies to normalize learning curves and hold honest conversations.
• Set boundaries: limit notifications, meeting load, and always-on expectations to cut digital fatigue.
• Upskill purposefully: targeted training helps employees feel prepared rather than threatened by AI and process change.

Offer quick-access, anonymous resources for mental health and burnout prevention. Align incentives with healthy habits—measure outcomes, not presence. These strategies help employers rebuild trust and make your culture resilient as you scale.

HR trends resources can guide how you prioritize support and design a shared employment deal that balances growth, flexibility, and care.

Stability without stagnation: job hugging and soft retirement reshape talent strategies

Job hugging is becoming a signal you can’t ignore: nearly half of workers report staying in their current job, and 63% expect the trend to rise next year.

That steadiness can hide a lack of growth rather than comfort. Diagnose whether people stay for safety or for stretch, then tailor interventions so you keep talent engaged.

Soft retirement is also on the rise. Experienced professionals are shifting to part-time, consultancy, or advisory roles. This preserves institutional knowledge and boosts mentoring.

• Treat stability as a signal: refresh roles and projects before performance slips.
• Offer rotational assignments, internal gigs, and short-term projects to unlock energy.
• Design soft retirement pathways to retain expertise and smooth role transitions.
• Create alumni and expert networks so knowledge stays accessible as tenures change.
• Track engagement and mobility metrics to spot stagnation early and act with targeted development.

Communicate how your talent plan balances steady roles and flexible options. Recognize long-term contributions while setting new goals that reignite purpose and learning for your people and your future.

Conclusion

This report leaves you with practical priorities that link culture, skills, and technology to measurable outcomes. You now see how falling engagement and persistent burnout intersect with AI and automation gains. Use that view to set clear, short-term goals for your teams.

Make culture tangible by codifying recognition and purposeful flexibility. Train managers to coach, measure impact, and reduce friction so employees can focus on high-value work. Treat AI and automation as tools that amplify human skills, not replacements.

Anchor your strategy in simple feedback loops, focused learning, and visible supports to protect retention and sustain performance. As the future arrives, your leaders must remove barriers and keep people at the center of change.