Dive Brief:
- Nearly three quarters of human resource leaders (73%) said they’re feeling optimistic about their organization’s future in 2026. However, 66% said they expect more change despite their generally positive outlook after experiencing a difficult 2025, according to the latest Wiley Workplace Intelligence report, which was released Tuesday.
- The survey of 1,500 HR and L&D leaders in North America found that 30% cited organizational culture improvement as well as employee engagement as top challenges for the year ahead. Meanwhile, 35% of respondents said learning technology would be a top priority.
- Communication will also be important for organizational efforts involving change and improvement, per the survey, with 64% of respondents naming it the most important leadership skill.
Dive Insight:
The research suggested that many employees lack confidence in their organization’s ability to adapt to change, Wiley said in a release, adding that there was a potential disconnect between leadership outlook and workforce reality.
A 2025 study from The Conference Board found that while 73% of HR leaders and 60% of workers reported being prepared for change and confident about their organizations’ ability to manage it, HR leaders were less likely to see past change efforts as successful. Instead, they identified gaps in measurement, communication and alignment. The report concluded that change initiatives can often sputter due to people-related challenges.
Many workers didn’t feel confident about their organization’s ability to adapt to change, but still said they were optimistic about their futures with their companies, per the Wiley report. This disparity offers leaders an opportunity to “harness this momentum” and bring people into their decision-making process through transparency and trust, the report added.
“This optimism is real, but it’s also precarious,” Tracey Carney, a Wiley researcher who headed the study, said in the release. “Leaders have a brief window in 2026 to convert that optimism into action by rebuilding trust, improving communication, and reinvesting in their people. Organizations that don’t seize this moment may risk letting it slip away.”
Many managers and employees suffered from significant stress and burnout during the past year as a result of “near constant change” resulting mainly from uncertainty and apprehension surrounding artificial intelligence adoption, Wiley said in the release, adding that only “a small fraction of employees truly thrived.”
Other factors in 2025 that led to challenges for organizational culture and employee engagement included rapid change, instability and return-to-office mandates, per the release.