Want to earn more money? Go back to the office, survey finds

💲 What does the hiring landscape look like for 2025?

💲 A Robert Half survey found four key trends that will take shape next year

💲 A return to the office would be best for new employees

With high inflation and economic uncertainty, what does the hiring landscape look like for 2025?

Current State of the Job Market

Information by Robert Half finds that more employees are staying with their current employers.

“Many workers are super satisfied with the salary and level of flexibility that they received when they might have made a move during the Great Resignation and are apprehensive about starting over a new employer, especially in an uncertain time,” said Christina Giglio, district director at Robert Half.

Despite the softening in the job market, many companies continue to face different hiring challenges, most significantly, finding highly skilled talent to support their key initiatives or their key open roles, she said.

So, for the majority of 2024, companies have been measured with hiring and adding new staff, overall due to concerns about inflation, the upcoming election, and overall recession fears.

“However, seasonal contract work typically picks up in Q4 and we’re starting to see that today,” Giglio added.

The Robert Half 2025 Salary Guide offers critical insights for professionals navigating a complex, evolving job market. There were four key trends to come out of the hiring landscape survey for 2025.

The 4 Key Trends

There were four key trends to come out of this survey, Giglio said.

1. In-Office Premiums – While a lot of jobs can be done remotely, many managers are willing to increase starting salaries for new employees willing to come into the office. Sixty-six percent of managers said they are willing to boost those starting salaries, with 59% offering up to 20% more for in-office roles. “This was the biggest trend we saw for 2025,” Giglio said.

The state of overall wage growth has been moderate and salaries have increased 4.1% year-over-year, Giglio added. But the reason why employers are looking for people to come into the office is truly that collaborative environment that they can offer, and they’re willing to pay a premium on that.

“While the data is still very fresh and very new, what I would say is that we expect to see a little bit of this continuation of a trend, and the employers are willing to fork over some of that money up front to get some of that new talent in the office,” Giglio said.

2. AI’s Impact – Artificial Intelligence is transforming skill requirements because half of hiring managers, 54%, said the advancements in AI automation is truly reshaping the needed skill sets when they’re hiring new employees. Thirty-seven percent of managers are hiring contract talent for AI projects.

Ninety percent of technology leaders plan to implement different initiatives that involve AI but they lack the skills needed, Giglio explained.

“Many of our top skills and demand have one thing in common and it really is AI. Whether that’s accounting, administrative, or technology, there’s so much future automation at hand, that right now, companies are trying to wrap their arms around what that future looks like and then the skills that are going to be needed for newer employees,” she said.

3. Compensation Evolution – Professionals continue to look for a nice comprehensive package going into 2025. However, nearly half of managers, 48%, report salary expectations will be their greatest hiring challenge in 2025, emphasizing the growing importance of perks and benefits in a competitive compensation package.

When it comes to benefits, health care ranks number one with workers, Giglio said. A healthy PTO package as well as a future retirement savings plan are other overall benefits they prioritize.

But, perks are also important to workers, she said. Going into 2025, 65% of employees are looking for flexible schedules as well as remote work options, followed by employee discounts, different wellnesses, or gym memberships. Overall, they’re looking for a nice work-life balance as an additional perk, Giglio said.

4. Retirement-driven Shifts – Retirement remains a top concern for managers. Right now, they're trying to implement strategic measures to bridge the gap of skills being lost with future retirements on the horizon, Giglio said. Forty-five percent of managers are investing in upskilling employees, while 41% are rehiring retirees as consultants.

Advice for New Employees in 2025

Job seekers are looking to maximize their salaries next year. With rising inflation and the economic turmoil, people are always looking for extra compensation, Giglio said.
“So I would say the number one thing that employees should be considering is being in office,” Giglio said.

Since there is a drastic number of employers who are willing to pay more for new employees to come on site, Giglio recommends it would be in an employee’s best interest if they returned to the office.

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