2025 has been a year of transition, and it’s likely that will continue into the new year. So let’s explore some employee experience trends for 2026 that should be on your radar.
Upskill and reskill your workforce
By 2030, over 12 million US workers may need to switch jobs because of AI and automation. The biggest losses will come in office support and admin roles.
Just because an employee’s current role becomes unnecessary, that doesn’t mean their internal knowledge or soft skills couldn’t still be useful to your organization, though.
Upskilling and reskilling employees protects their future careers, as well as ensuring you don’t lose the benefits that they bring to your organization. Preparing your team to remain competitive as the world of work evolves will be one of the key employee experience trends for 2026.
Train employees on AI
One of the biggest areas where employees need to upskill is in AI. Two-thirds have experienced customer complaints related to AI frustrations.
While businesses find it faster and cheaper to adopt AI chatbots for things like customer service, it isn’t always successful.
Sometimes, problems can still be solved faster by a person. And that fast resolution can get you greater customer satisfaction—and better reviews—over time.
So it’s not really surprising that 52% of employees feel that AI tools hurt the customer experience, rather than improve it. Too often, they lead to customers going around in circles, repeating themselves multiple times.
If you insist on employees using AI, you need to train them to do it in the right way. Too many companies assume employees can hit the ground running with it. In reality, 72% have felt pressured to use it this year, but they didn’t receive sufficient training. So how can they realistically experience any time savings or improvements in productivity?
Knowing how to spot deep fakes or write an AI prompt aren’t things that come naturally. We need to actively study how to do it. It’s on companies to educate employees on these things so that they can identify when an AI is making things up, or when it’s factually correct.
Otherwise, it could land you in legal hot water. This is especially true in some places, like the EU or California, which are bringing in AI regulations to ensure fairness. Other states are following, which means if you’re not already looking into this, you could fall behind.
Ensuring your team knows when and how to use AI is among the most important employee experience trends for 2026.
Look at healthcare packages
Employer healthcare spending increased by 7% in 2025. Through 2026, costs could rise a further 6-8% each year—higher than wage growth.
However, 35% of employees would swap employers for better healthcare benefits, even at the same pay.
So, if you’re not regularly checking your healthcare insurance provider to ensure they stay competitive (and therefore you do, too), you risk losing your high performers for the sake of a basic human right.
Don’t let one of the employee experience trends for 2026 that’s most crucial to your team’s wellbeing catch you off-guard.
Don’t force everyone back to the office (unless you want to lose people)
With office occupancy averaging just 53% in major US cities in 2025, it shows that RTO mandates just aren’t working.
Instead, they cause frustrated employees to leave. In fact, a quarter of employees who left roles in 2025 cited return-to-office mandates as a reason.
Worse, women are leaving companies at a higher rate than in recent years. Many say this is because businesses don’t offer flexibility or support.
Rigid office mandates mean that you miss out on people who come with different problem-solving abilities. Whether that’s because they have five kids or five chronic illnesses. Neither of those things mean they don’t know about your industry or can’t succeed in a role.
If you really want employees to come back, you have to show that you listen and support them. Otherwise, you’ll find that one of the employee experience trends for 2026 is that some would rather be unemployed than unsupported.
Consider where you stand politically
Politics is more divisive than ever, which is why many brands steer clear. And the waters are murky, with 64% of consumers feeling companies should take a public stand on social issues, but 58% boycotting brands for doing something they disagreed with.
44% of employees also felt uncomfortable about their employer taking a political stand. However, 35% said it improved how engaged they were. Plus, 75% of Gen Z employees would leave a company that failed to act on social or climate justice issues.
Needless to say, companies getting political can be a double-edged sword. There’s no right or wrong answer. But you need to know how to respond and adapt to changing political environments. Finding your footing and your voice during unstable times is among the trickiest employee experience trends for 2026.
If you’re doing layoffs, do it right
Layoffs in 2025 hit their highest level since the pandemic. At the same time, managers expect higher workloads heading into 2026 because of freezes or a reduction in staff. Layoffs can be an inevitable part of running a business, but the fear that employees experience during these challenging times shouldn’t be.
I’ve worked for companies where layoffs happened roughly once per quarter—once every six months if you were lucky. This created an atmosphere of fear. It strangled productivity. And no one wanted to be there.
If you must do layoffs, make sure the process is fair and efficient. Don’t drag out the inevitable or feed everyone false platitudes. They’ll see right through it. And those who stay will be more likely to leave because you’re not being honest with them.
If layoffs continue to be one of the employee experience trends for 2026, then making them more human should be, too.
Support your managers
Whether it’s through mentoring, coaching, or other forms of training, if hiring is freezing, you need to support your managers through these changes.
They need to be prepared to not just handle their own additional workload, but their employees’ additional workloads, too. This is one of the employee experience trends for 2026 that will be felt across your organization.
Conclusion
2025 has been rough for everyone, and some trends look certain to continue into 2026. Businesses need to show employees that they support them now, so that they can retain employee loyalty into the future. Because sure, you can rehire, but at what cost—to your bottom line and your culture?
If you want to support your employees by getting out ahead of these employee experience trends for 2026, why not use a tool that can improve your employee experience? Using Workrowd, you can send employee feedback surveys, manage employee programs and events, and keep all your important employee information in one place. Get in touch today to find out more and book your demo.
