Our Top 5 Challenges Faced by Workplace Teams in 2025

“Modern teams are having to contend with upheaval and a redesign of how they deliver their work. Practices of the past may no longer be suitable for the challenges of today and tomorrow” Tim Lambert

INTRODUCTION

Our experience, coupled with global and local trends as reported by credible organisations (Gallup, Boston Consulting Group, Harvard, etc) highlights several challenges currently being faced by teams and organisations.

Hybrid working is here to stay, at least for the foreseeable future. It has blurred boundaries between work and personal life, leading to burnout and disconnection. We are seeing a growing awareness of Mental Illness, whilst not always seeing the practices and cultural shift required to address it.

Coupled with hybrid working is the way discrete teams of people are often spread across sites and time zones (this is particularly so with many of our clients). The diversity within these teams can make for great creativity and innovation if harnessed, but that is not always the case. This requires teams to develop different and more productive collaborative team working practices, rather than relying on the same practices that were in operation in a non-hybrid world. It also requires a shift in hierarchical structural thinking, by adopting more agile and distributed accountability for decision making. This, in turn, has turned attention to the notion of Trust within and across teams. 

WHAT ARE THE TOP 5 CHALLENGES?

A summary of some of the most common challenges for our clients are as follows:

1.      Decision making

2.      Flow of information 

3.      Engagement

4.      Adoption of new technology (AI), systems and ways of working

5.      Culture Development and Sustainment

Photo by Proxyclick Visitor Management System on Unsplash

1.   Decision Making

The capacity of teams and individuals to make decisions at the right time is perhaps the single biggest determinant of success. Yet too much decision making is hampered by delay, obfuscation, nervousness, and interference. Clear accountability, within agreed parameters, is essential if teams are to move at speed to capitalise on ideas and meet operational demands.

This requires clarity around what decisions a team should be making and who within the team can make them. It requires trust where decision-making authority is afforded to individuals within the team rather than the whole team itself. And it requires agreement about what constitutes a quorate for certain decisions to pass (simple majority, full consensus, rights of veto, etc).

The fear of making the wrong decision is often less about not having the right (or enough) information but based on the potential backlash if the decision proves to be less than perfect. Cultures that attack people’s boldness inevitably become stagnant and overly cautious. Where blame and punishment (however dished out) are present, people retract from making decisions in all but the most critical of situations.  Therefore, a team needs to set its own rules and processes and establish supportive behaviours which making effective decision making possible.

2.   Communication

Whenever two or more people are present, the chance of miscommunication rises exponentially. Within diverse and remotely distributed teams, this presents an even more difficult problem which needs careful management. Problems arise through lack of sharing, sharing too much, misunderstanding intent and content, and disregarding. Where English is not everyone’s first language, nuances and meaning can get lost or be confused. Some team members may disengage as a result and remain silent.

Within a team, every person must have a voice and be able to use it without fear or prejudice. The environment needs to facilitate full and open discussion. And keeping the right people in the loop with the right information needs to become a habit, irrespective of whatever personal feelings people might have for each other. These things are not easy!

Poor communication practices remain high on the list of gripes for most organisations. Teams need to be honest with themselves about the causes and the solutions they need to implement.

3.   Engagement

The Gallup Workplace Study 2024 shows that engagement and alignment levels across companies are declining from an already low base. They are currently below pre-pandemic levels. People are not physically leaving to the same extent, but they are mentally detaching.

Levels of disgruntlement are affecting productivity, but they are not always out in the open, making them hard to address. We have been running employee surveys across established businesses which show a significant proportion of people who feel marginalised, underappreciated, and uninformed. We have seen higher levels of people ‘going through the motions’, choosing not to rock the boat and keeping their heads down.  This situation has been fed by a reluctance of some managers to address poor performance and motivation issues, or to provide regular and meaningful feedback.

4.   Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence, automation, and digital collaboration tools are transforming the workplace at an unprecedented pace. While these innovations promise to enhance productivity, they also introduce new complexity. They are in addition to the demands that are already swamping many teams.

However, the AI train is rolling and there is significant pressure on people to acquire the skills and practices to use AI tools wisely and efficiently. Teams must continually learn, unlearn, and adapt to new systems, often without clear guidance.

Related to this challenge, is the fatigue some people are experiencing with change, particularly in terms of the pace and uncertainty surrounding it. It is hard to know where to pitch your tent, when the landscape is shifting so regularly (which LLM should I use/can I trust?) Fear around the consequences of AI on the job market has affected adoption levels. And environmental concerns around the increased power and water consumption have produced caution.

Yet, AI capabilities will be critical for workers to adopt. To paraphrase the CEO of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, “It isn’t AI itself that will steal your job, but the people who use it.”

5.   Safe and Positive Culture

Finally, within the UK, there is significant attention being placed on workplace culture after the updates to the UK Equality Act. New enforceable provisions in the UK now assign legal responsibility to company and team leaders to create an environment where sexual harassment cannot happen. We have seen a rise in the number of client enquiries around this and have been delivering programmes for managers and staff across multiple organisations. This is challenging amidst a climate where DEI has become a political issue in some quarters. We have also found that there is a general lack of understanding of what constitutes sexual harassment, particularly where diverse cultures are represented.

People will thrive where there is physical and psychological safety, trust, acceptance and respect, but these things do not magically appear without conscious effort.

CONCLUSION

The challenges facing workplace teams today are not merely operational — they are deeply human. Success in the modern workplace depends on empathy, adaptability, and a shared commitment to continuous improvement. As organizations navigate the evolving landscape of work, those that prioritize trust, inclusivity, and learning stand a better chance of success.

New challenges will undoubtedly arise, requiring teams to be agile and responsive, whilst maintaining their operational effectiveness and satisfying their stakeholders requirements.