Why Workforce Agility Has Moved From Experiment to Expectation

We are redesigning work in real time. Employers are facing persistent talent shortages, fast‑moving AI adoption and shifting worker expectations — all at once. In response, many are turning to workforce agility: a deliberate strategy to increase adaptability by expanding the mix of flexible, non-traditional and technology-enabled roles.

The 'Indeed Global Talent Report: How workforce agility drives business results’¹ draws on a 2025 survey of more than 10,000 employers and jobseekers across 12 countries to understand how workforce agility is actually playing out and where it is stalling. The findings point to a clear conclusion: Agility delivers results, but only when it’s treated as a core way of working rather than a short‑term workaround.

Below, Indeed’s London-based Senior Talent Strategy Advisor Matthew Burney dives into highlights from the report, along with region‑specific guidance.

Asia-Pacific (APAC) Demonstrates How Workforce Agility Can Drive Growth and Innovation

India: A mature agile market driven by speed and ambition

Employers and jobseekers in India are optimistic about agile work’s potential to improve work. The vast majority of employers (96%) say workforce agility is very or extremely important to meeting their organisation’s goals, and 87% of jobseekers say it is similarly important to their careers. Indian employers are the most likely among their global counterparts to anticipate an increase in agile talent over the next year (74% vs 50% globally).

Australian employers use workforce agility to improve wellbeing and innovation

Australia’s adoption of agile work is on par with the global average. Still, it leads other countries in wellbeing, inclusivity and AI use to understand the needs of an agile workforce. Eighty-one per cent of Australian employers say agile models improve workforce wellbeing, the highest in our survey along with India and significantly above the average across markets (70%). Jobseekers are more tentative, though 61% agree that agile roles improve work wellbeing compared to 55% of their peers worldwide.

Singapore: Employer–worker alignment is key to unlocking agile talent

While both employers and jobseekers have a positive outlook on workforce agility, the two groups paint different pictures of agile work in Singapore today. Better alignment between the two groups will likely help both achieve their agile goals. Only 40% of employers offer flexible schedules, compared to a worldwide average of 48% and 42% offer remote work, below the 45% average across markets. Additionally, 40% of employers are looking for agile talent internally, while only 12% of jobseekers are searching for opportunities with their own organisations – it is their least-cited source.

What APAC talent leaders can do: Turn workforce agility into a sustainable career path

Looking broadly across APAC, workforce agility is further along because it is being designed for growth, not just flexibility.  Countries like India and Australia show that agility, wellbeing and innovation can coexist when supported by clear operating models and AI that improves decision-making.

The action? The next phase is about alignment: turning employer ambition into worker reality so agile work becomes a sustainable career path, not a temporary solution.

North America: High Interest in Workforce Agility but High Risk Aversion

U.S. employers and jobseekers associate workforce agility with elevated risk

While not the slowest in our survey to embrace agile work, employers and jobseekers in the U.S. are more likely than those in most other markets surveyed to express caution and risk aversion. Sixty per cent of U.S. jobseekers say agile work is a risky career move, the highest percentage worldwide, along with the U.K. and Singapore. Meanwhile, 67% of employers believe transitioning to an agile workforce involves significant organisational risk. 

Canada leads workforce agility adoption among employers

Canada currently leads the world in agile talent adoption, with 65% of employers saying they already employ agile talent. Employers and jobseekers align closely on flexibility as the top benefit (29% for both groups), but jobseekers also emphasise earnings potential. Thirty per cent cite higher pay as their top motivation, the highest proportion globally.

Mexico is highly committed to workforce agility but still in execution phase

Jobseekers and employers in Mexico see agile work as extremely important, but adoption has yet to catch up with enthusiasm. Both groups have a positive view of AI and increased adoption of AI for agile work can help overcome barriers to workforce agility. Workforce agility is more important in Mexico than in any other country in our survey, with 90% of jobseekers and 99% of employers considering it very or extremely important in achieving their career or organisational goals.

What North American talent leaders can do: Treat workforce agility as a core operating model

In summary, across North America, agility is still talked about as something risky, even though inaction is often the bigger threat.  Both employers and workers want flexibility and resilience, but uncertainty around AI and change is holding many organisations back. The leaders will be those who stop experimenting at the edges and start employing agile talent as a core part of how work actually gets done.

Europe: Workforce Agility is Constrained by Employer – worker Misalignment

French jobseekers choose agile work for role variety

France largely mirrors global averages in agile adoption and AI use but stands out for why workers choose agile roles. It is the only country where the variety that agile roles provide is the top motivation for jobseekers (25%). Employers agree: 24% say they use agile talent to gain fresh perspectives, well above the global average of 20%.

Germany: A talent shortage solution limited by candidate availability 

German employers turn to workforce agility to address talent shortages. However, employers say they struggle to find quality candidates for agile roles, while jobseekers say they have trouble finding agile opportunities that are a good fit. Shoring up talent shortages is the top motivation for hiring agile workers in Germany, at 37% – which is more than double the global average (17%).

In Italy, AI skepticism threatens the success of workforce agility

Italian jobseekers are more open to agile work than the global average, but both workers and employers are sceptical about AI, which could be a hurdle to successfully incorporating workforce agility. Among employers, 70% believe that AI benefits both employers and workers, which is 5% below the global average and far lower than AI-bullish countries like India (89%) and Mexico (87%). Jobseekers are also wary, with only 45% saying that AI benefits both employers and workers.

Netherlands: Employers and workers hold conflicting views

The Netherlands is home to more agile workers than any other country surveyed, but the data suggests that attitudes about agile work are conflicted and jobseekers and employers are often misaligned. Almost a quarter (24%) of employers in the Netherlands say cultural resistance is a barrier to embracing agile work, the highest among countries surveyed. Jobseekers and employers in the Netherlands are significantly less likely than global peers to say agile work creates opportunities for career growth and that workforce agility improves wellbeing.

UK: AI may improve success with workforce agility

U.K. jobseekers and employers are the lowest adopters of agile work of any country in our survey and also the least likely to use AI to support agile work. Leveraging AI may help both groups achieve greater workforce agility. The U.K. has the lowest proportion of jobseekers who say they are agile workers, at just 11%, compared to the global average of 21%. Similarly, only 39% of employers report employing agile workers, the lowest in our survey and well below the 53% average across markets.

What European talent leaders can do: Design workforce agility for long-term workforce planning

Overall, workforce agility is not constrained by interest in Europe so much as by alignment. Employers often turn to agile talent to solve short-term gaps, while workers are looking for variety, progression and better wellbeing.  The opportunity now is to move beyond tactical hiring and to design agile work as part of long-term workforce planning, using AI to improve fit and transparency rather than to patch over shortages.

PQ: The opportunity now is to move beyond tactical hiring and to design agile work as part of long-term workforce planning, using AI to improve fit and transparency rather than to patch over shortages.

Redefining Work Is No Longer Optional for Organisational Resilience

Workforce agility is no longer a niche strategy. Across regions, the data show that flexibility, AI enablement and new role designs can improve resilience, productivity and wellbeing – but only when employers move beyond pilots and quick fixes.

For leaders, the question is no longer whether work will change but how intentionally they shape that change. The employers who succeed will be those who redesign work itself. They will align business needs with human realities and treat agility as a permanent capability rather than a quick fix or temporary response.

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¹Indeed Survey with YouGov 2025. Total N=7,317 jobseekers and 2,966 employers. 

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