Adaptability, experimental workstyles will define future of work: Report

With India's work culture undergoing a transformation, a report has revealed that a significant per cent of employees believe the future will belong to those who adopt experimental workstyles and lifelong adaptability.

Global job site Indeed's inaugural 'Workplace Trends Report 2025' reveals that 58 per cent of Indian employees believe the future belongs to those who embrace experimental workstyles and lifelong adaptability and expect to adopt it by 2027.

Experimental work norms refer to a category that includes emerging workplace trends such as Reverse Mentoring (juniors guiding senior leaders), Micro Retirement (taking short intentional career breaks), AI Moonshining (secret AI use for job tasks), AI-Washing (making jobs and resumes look more AI-integrated than they are, because the market expects it), and Skill Nomadism (continuously shifting skills and roles).

This 'Workplace Trends Report 2025' is based on a survey conducted by Valuvox on behalf of Indeed, capturing responses from a total of 3,872 individuals, including 1,288 employers and 2,584 employees or job seekers in August 2025.

The report further revealed that nearly 2 in 5 Indian workers now prioritise "growth-first" habits, such as reverse mentoring, continuous upskilling, and integrating AI into daily routines.

Traditional ideas of loyalty and productivity are being redefined in Indian workplaces as employees want more than just recognition for hard work as they want the time and space to pause, learn, and reinvent themselves, said that report.

Instead of sticking to the old script of 'always-on' work, people are moving to a new rhythm that is rest, reflect, reskill, repeat, it added.

Nearly 41 per cent say they've quietly challenged traditional office expectations by setting firmer boundaries, picking up new skills, or even taking "bare-minimum Mondays" to recharge, revealed the report.

"Rest is no longer the opposite of progress in today's workplaces, it's part of the process. As more Indians embrace flexible routines and upskilling, they're showing that pausing isn't quitting, it's preparing for what's next," Indeed India managing director Sashi Kumar said.

These shifts point toward a future in which adaptability, personal development, and non-traditional work arrangements are core features of India's corporate sector, he added.