The 2025 Global Workforce Report from finance and HR enterprise cloud platform Workday reveals a triple threat that business leaders can’t afford to ignore: high performers are walking out the door, internal career growth has stalled, and employee trust is eroding due to unclear communication around artificial intelligence.
“While leaders are focused on external hiring, their most valuable people are leaving in search of growth they can’t find internally. And as AI reshapes every job, people are feeling anxious and disengaged, citing a lack of clear strategy,” said Phil Willburn, vice president of people analytics, insights, and experiences at Workday. “The bottom line? An organization’s greatest advantage has always been its people.”
According to the Workday report, career paths and a lack of direction are driving away high performers eager to grow. The problem isn’t opportunity—it’s the failure to connect people to company strategy at the very moment AI is accelerating change and uncertainty.
“AI may be rewriting the rules of work, but it cannot replace the value of engaged, motivated people,” said Ashley Goldsmith, chief people officer at Workday. “The companies that succeed will retain top talent, create meaningful growth opportunities, and have a clear strategy for human-AI partnership that drives results.”
Data from Workday Recruiting, HiredScore, Workday Peakon Employee Voice, and Workday People Analytics—aggregated from hundreds of millions of anonymized transactions and interactions across a range of companies and employees globally—support the three urgent challenges organizations are facing.
1. Your best people are leaving
High performers were leaving with increasing alarm across 75% of industries last year. That trend is growing, with attrition rates up across 100% of industries this year. The most significant increases were in retail (64%) and healthcare (28%). Replacing them is harder than ever: more than half of open roles now take over 30 days to fill, and a quarter stretch past 60 days, highlighting the challenge of finding and securing new talent.
“The people who drive your biggest wins—your high performers—are the most likely to leave. Our data shows that this isn’t just a feeling, but a measurable trend. High-performer attrition has increased across every industry we track year over year,” Willburn said. “When these key individuals leave, the impact extends far beyond a single team and could cause ripple effects. This exodus is a clear signal that there is a disconnect in the unspoken social contract between employer and employee.”
More than half (57%) of job seekers say they feel stuck in today’s labor market—with no clear next step. People need a step up the ladder to look forward to, and when they don’t see one, they feel stuck, he added.
“With nowhere else to go, and no opportunity in sight, employees feel trapped in their current roles,” Willburn said. “The landscape of internal mobility provides a clear explanation for this frustration.”
2. Internal career growth has stalled
High performers are leaving at accelerated rates due to lack of career growth. Promotions are down in 10 of 11 industries, and internal hiring has fallen 8%, according to the report. This means fewer opportunities for people to advance their careers without leaving the company. When growth stalls, engagement erodes, and top talent starts looking elsewhere.
“While leaders recognize that career development is crucial for retention, their actions often contradict this recognition. And while historically it was within their power to choose where they distributed growth and opportunity, the reality may have changed,” Willburn said. “Our research shows that hiring managers are often eager for what’s ‘shiny and new’—the external candidate—while overlooking the talent they already have. Internal mobility is simply not keeping pace with company growth.
“When you’re not actively promoting your own people and giving them new opportunities, you’re inadvertently encouraging them to satisfy their appetite for growth elsewhere,” he added. “And when recruiters aren’t leveraging internal data to help source candidates, the data disconnect becomes more obvious.”
How can business leaders reverse this trend? Workday offered the following advice:
- Redefine what growth means at your organization: Move beyond rigid career ladders and create opportunities for lateral moves, project-based work (such as gigs), and upskilling. These alternative pathways allow your top talent to gain new skills and exposure without having to leave the company.
- Prioritize internal mobility: Use your people data to gain real-time visibility into the skills and potential of your workforce. Use AI-powered talent marketplaces to proactively match your people with new roles and projects before you even think about looking externally.
- Cultivate a culture of challenge and connection: Empower your managers to have ongoing conversations about career aspirations. Use talent data to connect employees with critical projects, cross-functional teams, and mentorship opportunities. This is how you foster the innovation and collaboration that keep your best people engaged.
3. AI strategy is getting lost in translation
As AI reshapes work, companies are failing to bring employees along. The report found that 44% of employee comments made in organizations’ internal employee surveys mentioning strategy and AI are negative.
“Indeed, leaders have a clear vision for AI, how it will drive value, and what they plan to do with the productivity surplus. But without a clear communication about AI strategy and how it will impact roles and team structures, employee trust is suffering,” Willburn said. “A successful AI strategy is both technical and cultural. Adoption happens when employees understand how AI connects to their role, their growth, and the company’s direction.”
Photo credit: MichaelVi/Adobe Stock
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