Here’s how predictions on 2025 trends turned out in a year when boards and senior management teams pursued growth while managing an array of risks and opportunities spanning fluid geopolitical challenges, rapid adoption of AI and other new technologies, labor market and inflation concerns, people risks, and what felt to many like an inability to plan. Although business leaders anticipated material shifts globally in 2025, few accurately estimated their speed and volatility. These shifts impacted each organization differently in nonlinear ways, varying by country and sector.
Geopolitical change will continue, and new risks will arise even as current risks are addressed — tracked as predicted. From the earliest days of 2025, business risks included ongoing climate events (devastating fires, floods and severe weather), followed by pivots in rules and regulations, trade conditions and tariffs, financial investment flows, market shifts, property peril, gray zone attacks, wars, shipping and global supply chain disruptions, infrastructure, cyberattacks, disinformation campaigns, commodity price fluctuations, and employee and executive security breakdowns.
WTW’s Emerging Risk Survey, as well as the 2025 Political Risk Survey and the 2025 Supply Chain Risk Survey, accurately suggested the interconnected risk landscape would not significantly improve in 2025. Yet there were positives: 2025 was the first year since 2015 that no major hurricanes made landfall in the U.S., stock markets around the world remained robust despite economic concerns and progress appeared in some geopolitical arenas.
Effective leaders remained nimble, reevaluating approaches to navigate the 2025 operating environment rather than being stymied by it. They mitigated risks where possible, changed plans when necessary and prepared teams to act quickly and decisively when events occurred, knowing that not all perils can be avoided.
AI and new tech development will outpace adoption, yet show additional limitations and risks (increasing the automation paradox) — tracked as predicted. Generative AI, agentic AI and other new technologies continued to surprise users and leaders in what they could and could not do in 2025. Numerous studies from sources including Gartner, MIT, Stanford, Harvard and Wharton showed a range of AI implementation outcomes, including low CEO satisfaction with AI implementations, questionable returns on investment, inadequate skill sets, rising computing and energy costs, and limitations of specific tools.
The impact of data constraints also became more of a problem, slowing technology adoption as organizations reported challenges accessing, ingesting, cleaning and protecting data. Changing regulations, lawsuits and cyber breaches challenged the governance of technology and how AI is used at many organizations.
Effective leaders continued to shift from relying on traditional risk management and governance to using more dynamic governance models. They became more realistic about the pace and impact of technology adoption on customers, employees and performance. They recalibrated their expectations while recognizing the dizzying pace of technology’s influence on all aspects of their operations.
Labor markets, inflation, work arrangements and talent shortages remain in the news — tracked as predicted, generally. While elements of labor markets, inflation, work arrangements and talent shortages appeared to stabilize early in the year in many developed economies, results varied widely by country. For example, U.K. inflation increased in 2025 from 2.6% in March to 3.6% in October, then decreased to 3.2% in November (having been 1.7% in September 2024). While this is more favorable than the peak of 11.1% in 2022, the fluctuation concerned many leaders.
Eurozone inflation was 2.1% in October and November, similar to 2.2% in April and up from 1.7% in September 2024. U.S. inflation was 3.0% in September, down to 2.7% in November, up from 2.3% in April and from 2.4% in September 2024. Canada was 2.2% in October and November, up from 1.7% in April and from 1.6% in September 2024.
Regarding labor markets, fewer employees changed jobs, with many HR leaders reporting turnover as too low, creating the Great Stay and the new term job hugging. Permanent demographic shifts, including a baby bust, continued to create long-term talent shortages for certain jobs and skills that could persist for years, even as some companies laid off large numbers of existing workers.
Return to offices finally stabilized in 2025, though real estate and job data show material differences in work practices across regions, countries and cities. WTW research showed flexible work trends shifting gradually, as almost two-thirds of U.S. companies (61%) implemented formal policies requiring onsite attendance for a minimum number of days per week. Effective leaders monitored conditions closely, implementing new talent strategies as boards and senior management teams increased focus on culture, employee experience, and the transformation of pay, benefits and career programs.
People risks are at the forefront — tracked as predicted. Board members and senior leaders continued to prioritize human capital, viewing employee health and safety as a top organizational risk, according to WTW’s 2025 Directors and Officers Risk Report. They also remained concerned about talent and skill deficits.
Effective leaders understood companies with higher levels of employee wellbeing outperformed peers. They made human capital governance a core element of enterprise risk management, treating it as a material component of effective business leadership, aligned with company strategy and creating competitive advantage and driving performance. Material people topics varied widely by company in 2025, spanning developments in labor markets, skill shortages, succession planning, retention, compensation and benefit programs, employee wellbeing (financial, physical, emotional, social) and costs.
Effective leaders led holistic and strategic human capital discussions to consider the appropriate human capital metrics for their specific organizations in the context of performance, productivity and risk.
Boards and senior leaders seek stability and predictability in 2026 but remain focused on driving growth amid ongoing uncertainty and volatility.
A version of this article originally appeared on Forbes on January 10, 2026.
