Bosses must cut out workplace chaos

A new study offers an outlook on the top employee trends throughout Australia for 2025.

Qualtrics has released its annual study into the state of work and employee experience throughout the Land Down Under, revealing some insights into how employers may plan their attack for 2025.

The 2025 Employee Experience Trends report has revealed that employees feel overwhelmed by a collection of issues. Chaotic workplaces, workplace stereotypes, AI inactivity, and other factors intertwine to overwhelm Aussie workers.

In the report, the following list was found as the key 2025 employee experience trends:

1. The best employers of 2025 will make work less chaotic.
2. Young employees are optimistic.
3. Employee experiences are being ruined by entry and exit.
4. Prioritising short-term gains costs long-term trust.
5. Employees outpace companies on AI adoption.

As growing pressure around increased productivity continues to mount on employers and, therefore, employees, wellbeing policies are somewhat being disregarded. With both parties under the pump, business outcomes are taking priority over the previously sought-after workplace wellbeing, leaving workers disgruntled and disengaged.

Dr Cecelia Herbert, principal behavioural scientist at Qualtrics, gave some reasons why employee experience may be taking a dive throughout Aussie organisations.

“Employees’ patience with lacklustre change management efforts is wearing thin, and businesses are suffering. Work has become more chaotic since the pandemic because, in the pursuit of short-term wins, many employers have struggled to adapt their ways of working for current needs, styles, and expectations,” Herbert said.

“At its core, good EX (employee experience) is about how work gets done, and next year’s best employers will prioritise making it simple and easy for employees to do their best work.”

According to the report, employees are becoming disgruntled with their organisation even before they set foot in the door for their first day. The data shows that the hiring-to-entry experience is one of the lowest-rated phases of an employee’s tenure, which leads to engagement, wellbeing, and intent-to-stay issues in the long term.

A similar experience was also shared regarding their exit from the organisation, creating memories and a perception of resentment towards their tenure.

“Businesses are harming their efforts to deliver a positive employee experience and drive productivity and outcomes by starting and ending employee relationships on the wrong foot,” Herbert said.

“Organisations need to do a better job of welcoming people into their business and must remember an employee’s final impressions can have a lasting impact in how they perceive and share their time at the company.”

Reverting to the wellbeing aspect, less than half of employees (47 per cent) believe their bosses will choose employee wellbeing over short-term business.

“There is a worrying lack of trust being placed by employees in their bosses, influenced by recent decisions to roll back investments in employee wellbeing and DEI, poorly managed workplace change, and more. The economic impact of declining levels of trust is huge,” Herbert said.

“Our study shows a marked difference in how employees behave depending on their levels of individual and organisational trust, and companies need to take urgent action to reverse this worrying trend in 2025.”