The trends that will shape workplace culture in 2026

For many workplaces around the world, 2025 was a year of dramatic change. More and more companies rushed to embed AI agents into their business processes.

Concerns that these new colleagues will eventually lead to AI eliminating roles from the workforce grew louder, while big tech giants including Amazon, Meta and Microsoft all cited AI as a reason for cutting jobs. In total, AI was the reason for 54,694 layoffs from January through November, per consulting firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas.

In light of this, ITPro asked members of the tech community which trends they thought would most change the workplace in the year ahead.

Streamlining tech stacks to improve the hiring process

The potential of AI agents covers almost every business function, including recruiting and hiring. Anastasia Pshegodskaya. global director of talent acquisition at global HR solution provider Remote, describes its potential as “exciting, but frankly quite messy”.

The problem is that AI has transformed hiring at a faster pace than the average HR system can handle. As a result, roughly a third of HR leaders are finding that they’re having to work with several disconnected tools, according to Remote’s 2025 Global Workplace report, which surveyed 3,650 leaders.

“Two-thirds of HR tasks could be automated by AI within a year or two. But to make this happen, HR departments must sort out the tangle of point solutions in their tech infrastructure,” stresses Pshegodskaya. “Right now, they’re having to juggle three, four or even five separate systems just to move a candidate from application to offer.”

This year, and 2027, will be less about adding new AI tools to tech stacks and more about consolidating what they already have, she adds. The focus will be on setting guardrails for fairness and compliance, “so that AI can support good hiring decisions rather than simply speeding up bad ones”.

Offering ‘emotional salaries’ to attract and retain talent

As competition for talent hots up, Matt Monette, head of UK and Ireland at global compliance and payroll solution provider Deel, expects that companies will need to go beyond offering attractive pay packets this year.

Hiring budgets will be tight in 2026, with fewer guaranteed pay rises. Companies competing for the best talent will need to offer “emotional salaries” that lean on perks that support employees’ personal well-being, such as flexibility.

Such workplace perks aren’t new, of course. However, with employees growing increasingly concerned that they may be replaced by AI, they’ll need to be able to trust their employers. “Offering these perks will be the new currency,” Monette adds.

On top of this, he sees resilience sprints becoming mainstream, particularly in the UK, as teams grapple with disruption caused by economic turbulence.

“Short, focused check-ins that discuss losses, lessons and small wins help to normalize vulnerability and learning in the face of economic challenges. Used well, they can build the kind of resilience that helps employees avoid the risk of burning out.”

Providing training customized to AI tools

Simon Pettit is the area vice president for the UK and Ireland at agentic automation specialist UiPath. He’s in no doubt that AI is going to play a big role in the workplace this year. “But how it’s viewed culturally hinges on whether employee upskilling and training initiatives are prioritized,” he says.

Though AI usage is on the rise – with Gallup recording 40% of US employees now using the technology – business leaders remain worried about AI skills shortages.

“Hiring external, specialist AI talent is important. However, a lack of AI training initiatives can dent user confidence and prevent seamless, business-wide adoption,” Pettit warns.

As well as training that is customized to the AI tools that are being embedded in business processes, his advice is to conduct short pilot phases to build employee buy-in.

“These phases provide the opportunity for employees to test the tool and provide feedback in a lower-pressure environment before wider roll out,” he adds. “Adoption ends up being a collective process rather than a top-down enforcement.”

Balancing AI with human skills

There’s no question of whether companies will continue to adopt AI in 2026. Instead, the year ahead “will be shaped by how confidently enterprises can balance technology with humanity,” declares Wendy Swash, COO at global outsourced answering service Moneypenny.

The real opportunity, she adds, will be in “using AI to amplify human strengths, freeing people to do the things that the technology can’t: show judgement, build relationships, be creative.”

Examples of this include flexible working supported by secure, well-designed systems, continuous feedback loops, and learning platforms that enable employees to develop skills fluidly as their roles evolve.

“Ultimately, 2026 is going to reward the enterprises that view IT not just as infrastructure, but as a cultural enabler supporting belonging, adaptability and purposeful work,” concludes Swash.