Workday, Inc. has unveiled its 2025 Global Workforce Report, exposing a hidden talent crisis within organizations. Despite a cooling labor market, the report identifies rising attrition, declining career mobility, and employee discontent with AI strategies as urgent challenges.
Workday’s 2025 Global Workforce Report highlights a talent crisis.
High performer attrition rises across all industries, led by retail (64%).
Promotions drop in 10 of 11 industries, with internal hiring down 8%.
44% of employee feedback on AI strategies is negative, eroding trust.
Over 50% of open roles take 30+ days to fill, 25% exceed 60 days.
Clear career paths and AI strategies are critical for talent retention.
The report reveals a troubling trend: high performers are leaving at unprecedented rates. Attrition has increased across all industries in 2025, with retail (64%) and healthcare (28%) seeing the sharpest rises. Replacing talent is increasingly difficult, with over 50% of open roles taking more than 30 days to fill and 25% exceeding 60 days. This underscores the urgent need for retention strategies to keep top talent engaged.
Internal career growth is faltering, driving high performers to seek opportunities elsewhere. Promotions have declined in 10 of 11 industries, and internal hiring has dropped by 8%. "The companies that succeed will retain top talent, create meaningful growth opportunities, and have a clear strategy for human-AI partnership that drives results," said Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer, Workday. Without clear career pathways, organizations risk losing their best employees.
As AI reshapes workplaces, 44% of employee comments on internal surveys about AI and company strategy are negative, indicating a failure to align leadership goals with frontline realities. This disconnect slows organizational change and erodes trust, hindering effective AI adoption. Companies must prioritize transparent communication to bridge this gap and foster employee confidence in AI strategies.
The report emphasizes that retention and career growth are mission-critical for organizations aiming to thrive in the AI era. By investing in clear career pathways and human-centered AI strategies, companies can maintain engagement and competitiveness. Workday’s data, drawn from millions of anonymized transactions via Workday Recruiting, HiredScore, Peakon Employee Voice, and People Analytics, highlights the need for proactive talent management.
Workday’s 2025 Global Workforce Report underscores the urgency of addressing talent retention and AI integration. Organizations that prioritize employee growth and transparent AI strategies will unlock their AI advantage and maintain a competitive edge in a rapidly evolving workforce.
Workday is the AI platform for managing people, money, and agents. The Workday platform is built with AI at the core to help customers elevate people, supercharge work, and move their business forever forward. Workday is used by more than 11,000 organizations around the world and across industries – from medium-sized businesses to more than 65% of the Fortune 500. For more information about Workday, visit workday.com.
TechIntelPro empowers B2B technology decision-makers with the latest industry trends, deep insights, leadership perspectives and actionable intelligence to drive both organizational and professional milestones—and thrive on the tech pulse.