The Workplace Intelligence Forecast for 2026 describes a labor market reshaped by economic slowdown, consolidation, and rapid AI adoption that is overturning assumptions about job stability and worker leverage. White-collar, entry-level professional roles are shrinking as AI automates routine knowledge work, while blue-collar and skilled-trade jobs are surging due to infrastructure investment, energy transition, and persistent labor shortages, drawing more Gen Z workers toward vocational paths. Employers are freezing hiring, flattening organizations, and stretching middle managers, slowing career mobility and increasing burnout. AI is both boosting productivity and widening skills gaps, with many employees feeling pressured to adopt tools without adequate training and hiring becoming increasingly automated. Rising healthcare costs, political polarization, return-to-office mandates, and declining flexibility for working mothers add further strain. The report concludes that resilience in 2026 will depend on transparent AI use, reskilling, trust, and human-centered leadership.

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