As we reflect on the transformative shifts in the world of work during 2024, it’s clear that several key trends have emerged that will continue to shape the recruitment landscape in 2025 and beyond. Let’s explore five critical trends that we believe recruiters and hiring managers should be aware of as businesses begin to shape their HR and talent acquisition strategies for 2025.
1. The rise of blue-collar and ‘new-collar’ jobs
2024 saw a significant surge in blue-collar and ‘new-collar’ jobs, a trend that’s set to gain even more traction in 2025. Globally, while the tech sector experienced job cuts, manufacturing job postings surged by 46%. This shift reflects a growing demand for skilled labour in both traditional trades and high-tech sectors.
Traditionally, a spike in blue collar jobs could negatively impact South Africa if international companies head hunt our talent, and we will keep a close eye on this trend so that we can focus on strategies to retain local talent.
However, for the purposes of this article, we’re looking at ‘new-collar’ jobs, which require advanced skills in areas like AI and cybersecurity but not necessarily advanced degrees. These roles provide significant opportunities for skilled workers, often from blue-collar backgrounds, who have the necessary soft skills or mindset to learn through practical experience or occupational training.
For HR leaders and recruitment specialists, this trend presents an opportunity to rethink work design. In 2025, we can expect to see more organisations developing strategies focused on empowering and supporting blue-collar and new-collar talent. This will involve targeted recruitment, onboarding, and talent management practices, as well as investments in technologies that enhance productivity and job satisfaction for these workers.
It’s a great opportunity to redefine employee value propositions (EVPs) for new-collar workers. Employees who know that they will be given opportunities to expand their skills based on new technologies will gravitate towards employers who support their future career prospects.
2. The opportunity of five generations in the workplace
2024 marked the beginning of a significant shift in workforce demographics, with employees aged 75 and above becoming the fastest-growing segment. This trend, driven by financial necessity and personal choice, is set to accelerate in 2025.
In South Africa, where youth unemployment looms, we don’t always focus on the benefits of the fact that for the first time in history, there are five generations in the workplace. In the previous trend we discussed new collar jobs resulting from new technologies. But let’s not forget that more mature employees have a wealth of business, role-specific and general relationship building and customer service knowledge to share.
The best way to leverage this trend is to support retiree-age employees and encourage knowledge sharing across the organisation. For example, teams made up of multiple generations accomplish things that narrower groups cannot. Take the world’s first affordable open-source metal 3D printer, which was developed by a diverse team at Michigan Technological University’s Open Sustainability Technology Lab. According to the lab’s former leader, their innovation required a blend of skills: the technical expertise of Gen X academics, the coding skills of Millennial postgraduates, and the practical problem-solving abilities of Boomer scientists.
Don’t miss this excellent chance to improve innovation and productivity across the board, and encourage skills sharing to grow your organisation.
3. The necessity of the antifragile worker
The concept of the ‘antifragile worker’ gained traction in 2024 and is set to become a major focus for businesses in 2025. Unlike traditional resilience, which withstands shocks, antifragility actively gains strength from turmoil, capitalising on disruptions and using challenges to grow.
This trend is driven by ongoing economic volatility, with interest rate uncertainty and high inflation creating pressure on workers. Mental health issues affect about 15% of working-age people worldwide, with younger generations particularly vulnerable to stress and burnout.
In 2025, businesses will need to reshape workplaces to help current and future generations of employees thrive in a fast-changing world. This involves addressing social and structural factors affecting mental health, providing employees with resources to succeed, building resilience, and removing barriers that prevent full participation from individuals with mental health conditions.
Strategies to build an antifragile workforce should focus on creating an environment where continuous growth and adaptability are prioritised. This includes recruiting individuals with a growth mindset who will support their colleagues, upskilling beyond technical skills to develop soft skills like adaptability and emotional intelligence, re-evaluating performance and reward approaches to recognise resilience and innovation, and fostering a safe environment for experimentation and calculated risk-taking.
4. The evolution of employee engagement
Despite decades of focus on employee engagement, global engagement levels have remained stagnant at around 23% since 2000. So, how can organisations redefine engagement and focus on what employees truly care about? This involves investing in leadership development and line manager enablement, as 70% of team engagement variance is determined solely by the manager.
In 2025, we can expect to see more organisations putting mechanisms in place to identify real employee needs. This goes beyond conducting surveys; it’s about fully understanding, validating, and improving the employee experience. A robust employee listening strategy will include various feedback channels, such as information from 1:1 meetings, stay interviews, and exit interviews.
HR will need to focus on creating ‘decent work’ with real drivers of employee engagement such as fair pay, safe working conditions, and clear expectations. This shift, from relying on relational agreements to establishing transparent, transactional exchanges, gives employees purpose and allows them to thrive.
5. The ongoing struggle with remote work
The tension between employee desire for flexibility and some companies’ push for a return to office continued to be a significant trend in 2024, and it’s set to remain a key issue in 2025.
While many employees express a strong preference for remote or hybrid work arrangements (a staggering 98% of workers would prefer to work remotely at least part of the time) many organisations have been calling for a return to the office. This disconnect has created challenges for both employers and employees.
There are many pros and cons to fully remote or fully onsite workforces, and some companies cannot offer hybrid solutions. However, given employee sentiment, we think it’s worth exploring the fact that talent will be looking for flexible work arrangements, and employers can explore ways to make hybrid work effective. First, develop comprehensive and clear hybrid work policies that outline expectations for remote and in-office work. Investments in technologies that support seamless collaboration across distributed teams and training for managers on effectively leading and engaging remote and hybrid teams are also important.
Whether hybrid is right for you or not, there is no doubt that organisations that can successfully navigate this challenge will likely gain a competitive edge in attracting and retaining top talent. They will need to balance the benefits of in-person collaboration with the flexibility that many workers now expect.
Pulling it all together
As we move into 2025, these five trends will significantly shape the HR and recruitment landscape. By proactively addressing these areas, HR leaders can position their organisations for success in an increasingly complex and dynamic world of work. The key will be to remain adaptable, to listen closely to employee needs, and to create work environments that allow all workers – regardless of age, job type, or work location – to thrive and contribute their best.
