Although the new year has just begun, there is still time to make predictions and trends that will characterize managers’ work in the coming months. of Current status of executives Reported by international workplace group For example, (IWG) depicts a management team that recognizes growth opportunities but is determined to manage them with strict financial discipline. Although 95% of CEOs declare they are confident about the future, cost control is a top priority for all at the top, with CFOs expecting an average budget reduction of 10%. This is an obvious contradiction, based on the premise of “doing more with less,” and finds two effective answers in two levers that are now central to corporate strategy: artificial intelligence and hybrid working.
IWG estimates that implementing AI can reduce operating costs by 20-40%, and workforce flexibility can reduce real estate costs by up to 55%. Once these resources are freed up, they are reallocated to investments deemed strategic. For 83% of C-suite respondents, the main areas of spending through 2026 will be AI, automation, and advanced digital productivity tools. In fact, given the fact that this technology saves workers an average of 55 minutes per day (as confirmed in a previous study by the IWG itself), giving them back value-added time, the potential for AI to intervene goes beyond the potential for financial efficiency. Therefore, changes in work styles will also impact how offices are used. 83% of CEOs have already moved away from the idea of a headquarters as the organization’s sole operational center and are embracing the idea of a network of distributed offices. A network of distributed offices helps managers address multiple needs, from reducing commuting to accessing a broader talent pool to increasing employee satisfaction (and productivity). It is therefore no surprise that by 2026, more than half of all CEOs will favor short-term leases and coworking solutions.
Critical skills and talent shortages: The human capital challenge
While artificial intelligence and flexibility are reshaping the organization of work, human capital remains the real key, always and everywhere. HR Barometer 2026 By a multinational operations consulting company gap 2 identifies four factors destined to drive the job market: artificial intelligence, welfare, the green transition, and talent shortages. And the next few months will require executives to seek a (complex) balance between these four elements.
Its starting point is well known. Demand for technical skills is rapidly increasing, particularly for highly specialized talent such as AI and machine learning engineers, data scientists, cybersecurity experts, and industrial automation and renewable energy experts. We are talking about a central role in supporting digital innovation and the energy transition, but that role is becoming increasingly difficult to find. Projections cited by agap2 confirm that in this regard, Italy needs around 20,000 engineers per year to close the structural gap, which not only poses a major business problem but also risks putting a brake on the competitiveness of the national system.
In this context, artificial intelligence is interpreted not as an occupational threat or a replacement component, but as an enabler of new forms of collaboration between humans (people) and technology (chatbots and robots). Machines will support day-to-day activities, but professionals will need to continually reskill to develop the skills needed to manage the changes dictated by increasingly sophisticated digitalization processes.
