In conversation: How are HR leaders dealing with uncertainty and change in the workplace?

In an era defined by unpredictability and transformative shifts, HR leaders are finding themselves at the forefront of navigating complexity. With profound political upheaval, economic turbulence, and rapidly evolving talent demands shaping our daily realities, companies are compelled to adapt, anticipate, and innovate. Those that can spot early trends, quickly pick up on changes, and engage in scenario thinking are poised to thrive amid the volatility. 

This uncertainty is having an impact on our people. Remote working, transformation projects, the spectre of AI-disruption, and wages that don’t stretch as far as they once did are leaving workforces disillusioned and disconnected. When we also hear that Gartner has highlighted loneliness and a lack of camaraderie at work as a business risk for 2025, with only 27%  of employees rating their well-being favourably, it becomes clear that HR is going to need to work harder than ever to connect people to their work and their purpose.  

So what are we missing? We interviewed Luke McKeever, CEO of Thomas International; and Vivienne Meredith, Founder of V Meredith Consulting Ltd. to find out what’s working for other HR professionals right now.

What are HR leaders doing to improve workplace connection in 2025? 

1. Rebuilding connection after organisational change 

Connection in the workplace is rooted in trust – so leaders need to take the time to understand what drives and supports their people if they’re going to create stronger, more effective teams. During transformation projects, that trust is often depleted. 

Vivienne reflects that “while transformation projects can bring positive outcomes for some, they can leave other people feeling disconnected. I’ve had the opportunity to walk people through those kinds of experiences; and they often don't feel they can celebrate their own situation because they're reconciling the broader picture. The most successful restructurings spend time and effort re-forming a team’s trust after the event. Leaders are starting to recognise this and implement measures like ‘Stay interviews’ instead of traditional ‘Exit’ interviews.” 

2. Focusing on great line management 

When it comes to roles and responsibilities, Luke points out that managers are finding themselves squeezed into several roles at a time, and that’s problematic – not just for them, but also for the direct reports they are supposed to be mentoring. “Statistics tell us that nearly 23% of managers don't want to be managers today,” he says. “They've become managers through moving up the hierarchy rather than through choice.”  

But reframing line management as a professional discipline, not just a promotion step, can help organizations build stronger leadership. Vivienne Meredith says;  

“One thing I’ve seen – and I think it’s bold, but really simple, is to say that everybody deserves a good line manager. And that the line manager is a profession just like anything else, so should be a focus for connection. I worked with a company who implemented 180° feedback and who said ‘it's not an add-on'. It's not something that you just do because it was the easiest route up the ladder – it is a specialism in itself, and you can choose to keep it as your role or you can move away from it. That was groundbreaking.” 

3. A move to building community via shared interests 

With politics shifting to the right in many areas of the world, we are seeing topics like diversity and gender become increasingly controversial. Some have responded to this by cutting funding or ceasing their activity, while others are digging in and doing more. These spaces are helping to continue to create connection across diverse teams and help rebuild community when other forces might feel to be eroding it. 
 
Luke McKeever has seen “more companies creating ERGs, which create more powerful minority voices that can then come together to create connection. And it’s important because when you feel connected, it transforms the way you behave. When we feel disconnected it can be really damaging to our motivation.” 

Vivienne Meredith, on the other hand, has recently been seeing “either a movement away from, or a doubling down on initiatives around diversity, inclusion, and equity.” The context around this, particularly in the US, is super challenging. “And that’s playing out in the choices that people are making,” she says. “I was talking to a fantastic Chief People Officer who is putting a lot of effort into connection around shared interests rather than shared characteristics. And that's such a great way of looking at it! Using social clubs and sport as a way of creating new communities. For those of us who have been in corporate life for some time, this takes us full circle to some of the ways community and camaraderie were formed when we started work. Maybe the future lends itself to choice, options to try new things, and belonging in multiple ways” 

4. Learning together to create equality 

Finally, another emerging trend looks set to benefit workplace connection if handled well. The rise of AI is prompting collective upskilling – and Vivienne suggests that “when teams learn together, it levels the playing field,” opening the door for authentic, connection driven by the joint experience of shared vulnerability. 

Vivienne goes on to say that “the reskilling and upskilling agenda around AI is a great opportunity for connection, because there's lots that none of us know how to do. We're learning every day, and you can’t really process that alone. I think it equalizes us, and I'm certainly seeing this in my current work. The knowledge sharing people are doing to support each other where others haven’t been able to learn has really helped to improve connections.” 

What do you think – have you experienced any of these changes in 2025, or do you see them on the horizon for your organisation? Join our community of Thomas users in discussing the latest topics in HR, or follow Luke and Vivienne below for more thought leadership in HR.