5 Data-Backed Workforce Moves Talent Leaders Can Do Now

Key Takeaways: 

• What do Indeed’s 2025 Workforce Insights mean for employers? This article offers five takeaways from the survey with concrete actions for HR/TA leaders to reduce churn and boost workers’ growth and development.
• Backed by an eight‑country survey and expert guidance, the article shows how to expand role‑relevant learning and AI literacy to reduce churn and boost productivity.
• Curious why many women would trade pay for flexibility or why employer encouragement predicts AI adoption? Learn the specific leadership moves that turn worker needs into measurable retention and performance gains.

“There’s a persistent communication gap between employers and job seekers,” says Matt Berndt, Head of Indeed’s Job Search Academy. The core challenge? The unknown.

“Everyone wants predictability — in investing, job search and recruiting — but right now, there isn’t any. This lack of predictability makes it hard for employers to develop long-term hiring strategies and hard for job seekers to conduct their searches,” he continues.

Drawing from Indeed’s 2025 Workforce Insights Survey, Berndt analyzed data on how workers across countries, generations and backgrounds are navigating today’s world of work. The findings reveal how talent leaders can translate workers’ needs into strategy, focusing on flexibility, growth and AI enablement.

In moments of uncertainty, data offers a path forward. Discover the top takeaways from the survey below, along with expert advice to arm talent teams with responsive action.

Why Has Workplace Flexibility Become a Core Factor in Gender Equity?

Key Insights: According to the survey, U.S. women are more likely than men to choose remote work and flexible working hours as their top-valued benefits. Yet job postings advertising flexible schedules in the U.S. peaked in late 2023 and now sit at 13.7%, while remote/hybrid postings have plateaued or declined across most countries surveyed. 

Notably, 40% of U.S. workers say they would trade at least 5% of their pay to retain remote work options.

Why this matters for HR & TA

As labor forces age and shrink, employers who reduce flexibility risk cutting off critical talent pipelines.

“When flexibility is treated as optional rather than intentional, strict return-to-office policies can unknowingly limit who’s able to thrive, particularly caregivers and experienced women who are critical to team success,” says Jacqueline Causa, AMER Co-chair of the Women at Indeed inclusion business resource group (IBRG) and Director of Client Activation and Development.

“Forward-thinking leaders have ongoing conversations with their teams and use market data to understand what balance creates the most value, for both the business and the people who power it,” Causa says.

The companies that stand apart take certain actions: 

• Center work requirements around performance
• Embed fair scheduling into job design
• Normalize asynchronous collaboration
• Make hybrid eligibility and expectations clear

How Does Unequal Access to Training Widen Skill Gaps?

Key Insights: The 2025 Workforce Insights Survey shows that any increase in education correlates with higher earnings and lower unemployment. However, 57% of workers with only a high school diploma report having no access to employer-provided training, compared with just 33% of bachelor’s degree holders. 

The same divide appears in AI exposure: only about half of workers without postsecondary education use AI at work, versus roughly two-thirds of those with bachelor’s degrees.

Why this matters for HR & TA

When development opportunities cluster around already-advantaged workers, organizations limit internal mobility and the growth of future-ready skills.

“One of the biggest talent gaps in most companies isn’t capability – it’s access,” says Malia Atta, Director of Learning and Enablement at Indeed. “When learning time and AI tools are primarily available to people in degree-required or knowledge-based roles, we often reinforce the same inequities we say we want to solve. As organizations look ahead to 2026, the most important talent decision won’t be which tools they invest in, but who they choose to believe in and empower to learn.”

She points to practical design choices organizations can make to distribute opportunity more equitably across the workforce:

• Guarantee baseline, role-relevant AI literacy for every role
• Hold leaders accountable for equitable access and participation in learning and development programs
• Remove unnecessary credential requirements that limit internal mobility and skill-based progression

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What Actually Drives AI Adoption at Work?

Key Insights: Between 16% and 40% of workers say they’re disengaged from AI, meaning they neither use it nor feel they need training. This group skews older, more rural and more likely to work in manual occupations. Critically, employer encouragement is one of the strongest predictors of AI adoption across countries.

Why this matters for HR & TA

AI transformation is now a people strategy. Without inclusive training, productivity gaps will widen rapidly.

“The divide isn’t human versus machine — it’s supported versus unsupported workers,” says Hannah Calhoon, VP of AI for Indeed. “AI is a force multiplier when paired with human judgment, and its impact depends on how widely it’s adopted and by whom.”  

“Our internal AI for Indeed efforts show that generic AI upskilling is nice, but company-specific, context-rich upskilling on how to leverage AI inside the company environment and its systems has a dramatically higher ROI and drives better business performance,” she adds. “If companies expect a wave of upskilling to drive business outcomes, it's better for them to have more control over that experience so they can provide the skills and context that will help their employee base be as successful as possible.”

Why Are Immigrant Workers Burning Out Faster?

Key Insights: Recent immigrants (those in the U.S. for fewer than five years) report employment rates of 83%, compared to 65% for U.S.-born workers, and are significantly more likely to be actively job-seeking. They also report higher burnout (42% vs. 37%) and stress at work (39% vs. 35%). While optimism about career mobility is high initially, it declines sharply with tenure as structural barriers persist.

Why this matters for HR & TA

Immigrants are a resilient, motivated workforce. But forgoing intentional inclusion and advancement pathways risks churn.

“Companies that rely on immigrant labor are going to have to work harder to encourage people to come,” says Laura Ullrich, Indeed Hiring Lab’s Director of Economic Research in North America. “If you are willing to pay the H-1B visa sponsorship, you need to clearly and strongly communicate that — and not only in job postings or on your website but to your representatives and relevant professional trade organizations.”

How Do Generational Stereotypes at Work Mask Real Issues?

Key Insights: Hybrid work is most popular among Gen Z and millennials, while in-office preference increases with age. However, across generations, a consistent gap between preferred and actual work arrangements persists, especially for younger workers. Contrary to common belief, baby boomers aren’t the least willing to change careers.

Why this matters for HR & TA

Retention problems often stem not from generational attitudes but from employers ignoring clearly stated preferences.

“Generational conflict is a distracting narrative; what actually breaks retention is the disconnect between what people say they need and what employers deliver,” says Carmen Graf, Indeed VP of Marketing and Executive Sponsor of the All Generations Empowered (AGE) IBRG.

“Our real-time labor data shows that preferences vary by life stage, role and local context — not stereotypes — and they shift quickly. The answer lies within designing hybrid models, schedules and growth pathways that respond to your people. If employers want to keep talent across generations, listen in real time and personalize where you can.”

Understanding Your Workers Is the Fastest Solution to Better Hiring

As Berndt reminds us, “The reality is that people don’t like the process of looking for a job; they just want to be understood and hired.” Build that understanding into your hiring system by treating flexibility as equity, democratizing access to growth and encouraging AI use with real training, clear guardrails and protected practice time. Start now and let the data keep you honest.

Survey Methodology: The data in this article are from the 2025 Indeed Workforce Insights Survey. Indeed commissioned YouGov to conduct nationally representative research studies among adults aged 18+ across eight markets -United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, Australia, Germany, Japan, Canada, and France. More detailed methodology information is available in the report.

Indeed provides this information as a courtesy to users of this site. Please note that we are not your recruiting or legal advisor, we are not responsible for the content of your job descriptions, and none of the information provided herein guarantees performance. 
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