• AI-enabled talent takes centre stage.
• Early careers will be redefined amid automation-induced concerns.
• Organisations must tackle the latest mutation of ‘Technostress’: FOBO.
• Life Sciences will lead global industry growth.
• Trust must be re-established in the AI era. 

Introduction

• What are the biggest trends for 2026?
• Which trends will shape your strategy – and which are just hype?
• And perhaps above all else, what do these changes mean for your workforce strategy?

 
In the first of two parts, we spotlight three essential trends shaping the future of work, each paired with practical insights to help you move from awareness to action.
 
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Please note before you read on: The information and opinions contained in this article have been prepared by Hays for general information purposes only. The information does not constitute advice and should not be relied on or treated as advice. It is important to obtain your own independent advice and form your own judgments and opinions. 
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Trend 1: Why is AI-enabled talent critical in 2026?

 
Summary: The volume of AI-adjacent talent is soaring. These roles bridge the gap, using technology to drive business transformation.
 
Key facts:

• The number of AI-adjacent roles (e.g., AI Ethics Specialists, AI UX Designers and Prompt Engineers) is surging globally.
• Traditional job descriptions are evolving, requiring talent across all functions and industries to enhance their digital capabilities.
• We’re seeing rapid talent growth in emerging hubs like Canada and India.

 
Deeper dive:
 
2026 is the year that AI-adjacent talent takes centre stage.
 
These roles don’t build. Rather, they bridge the gap – working alongside AI-enabled technologies to translate technical potential into real business impact. Key skills include interpreting AI-generated outputs, orchestrating new workflows, quality assurance and upholding ethics and compliance.
 
For organisations, a new challenge emerges. These roles don’t fit neatly into traditional job descriptions, making the talent search more complex – and more competitive.
 
Demand is surging on both sides of the market. Skills growth has been explosive and appetite for AI-adjacent talent continues to rise, even as overall job postings decline:

• AI Ethics Specialists: In the UK, we tracked a 102% year-on-year increase in professionals with both ‘Ethics’ and ‘Artificial Intelligence’ skills. It’s a talent pool that is expanding dramatically, with a global increase of 142% year-on-year. Alongside the UK, countries such as Brazil, France and the US record sharp talent growth.
• AI UX Designers: The global talent pool for this skill set has grown by 92% in the past year. Demand is extremely high, making these roles difficult to fill. The talent available is found in major urban hubs, with India, the US and the UK boasting the highest concentration of this rapidly growing talent pool.
• AI Prompt Engineers: Growth among ‘Prompt Engineers’ who also list ‘Artificial Intelligence’ as a skill has been moderate year-on-year, likely reflecting the role’s inherent alignment with AI and the steady increase of talent, rather than sudden disruption. Established tech hubs such as the US and the UK remain dominant, although emerging locations like Canada and India are building momentum. Gender diversity is notably weaker compared to the other roles explored, with fewer than one-third of professionals identifying as female.

 
In 2026, organisations must write a new playbook for attracting, developing and retaining AI-adjacent talent - or risk falling behind. The boundaries between technical and non-technical roles have blurred, requiring talent across all functions and industries to enhance their digital capabilities.
 
This marks the beginning of a new era for skills. Once a commodity traded for jobs, they are now the infrastructure on which modern businesses are built. “Like roads or broadband, skills enable innovation and mobility across industries”, states the World Economic Forum.
 
What should organisations do next? 

• Skills-based hiring will become a competitive necessity, not a nice-to-have: Traditional ‘skills-building’ routes, including schools and universities, aren’t adjusting quick enough. Organisations will need to focus on finding talent with strong mental elasticity and a hunger to learn.
• Adopt global hiring strategies to access emerging talent hubs: With AI-adjacent skills growing fastest in emerging hubs, organisations must expand their horizons. Cross-border hiring enables you to tap into diverse, rapidly expanding talent networks.

 
Trend 2: How is automation redefining early careers? 

Summary: Gen Z is competing with Gen AI, as automation removes many entry-level roles.
 
Key facts:

• Entry-level job openings have declined globally since the launch of ChatGPT.
• Only 56% of young workers feel confident in writing good prompts for AI.
• 21% of young people believe they would be ‘discouraged’ from using AI in an educational setting.

 
Deeper dive:
 
Gen Z is driving AI adoption, while simultaneously absorbing the brunt of its impact. While their tech fluency offers them an edge, automation is dismantling traditional career ladders, removing the roles that once served as stepping stones into the workforce.
 
As Generative AI (GenAI) automates many ‘first rung’ tasks, including data entry, basic coding and content creation, the data shows a sharp decline in job volume:

• Research from the US shows a 13% decline in employment for workers aged 22–25 in AI-exposed roles, since 2022.
• In the UK, entry-level job openings have dropped by nearly a third since the launch of ChatGPT.
• Across Europe, hiring rates have declined year-on-year, with Marketing, People and Engineering taking the most significant hits (75.6%, 72,3% and 72.2% respectively).

 
But Gen Z isn’t just competing with AI – they're struggling to work alongside it. Poor AI literacy means just 56% of young workers feel confident in writing good prompts. More concerning is how heavy AI reliance is impacting soft skills: ’over-users’ demonstrate weaker problem-solving and critical-thinking capabilities.
 
2025 was the year that Gen Z competed with AI. 2026 must be the year they learn to collaborate with it. This shift demands action from two critical players:
 
Educational institutions must mirror the world of work: While most organisations encourage AI usage to boost productivity and innovation, the education system appears out of sync.
 
In a survey of nearly 3,500 Gen Z workers, just 7% expected to be discouraged from using AI in the workplace. In an educational setting, this jumps to 21%. Today’s learners aren’t being equipped with the skills or understanding to thrive in an AI-enabled workforce.
 
Organisations need to look beyond cost and consider career pipelines: Will Bentinck, Associate Director of Emerging Talent Solutions, Hays UK&I encourages employers to act soon:
 
"AI fluency is already an essential workplace skillset, for everyone, but people don't start their careers ready-made. Get ahead of the mid-level-pinch by investing in early careers, embedding AI fluency from the ground up."
 
This isn’t about preserving outdated roles; it’s about redefining early careers. AI remains a tool. Outputs still need to be reviewed, data curated and ethical questions answered for. These are the opportunities awaiting the next generation.
 
Here's what you need to consider next: 

• Elevate, don’t just eliminate: As AI absorbs tasks, refocus entry level roles to incorporate higher-value work that requires creativity and collaboration.
• Foster AI wisdom, not just proficiency: The most successful talent won’t just know how to use AI, but also when to trust it, when to challenge it - and when to avoid it altogether.

 
Trend 3: What is 'Technostress' and how do we manage 'FOBO'? 

Summary: The ‘Fear Of Becoming Obsolete’ will shift from a singular concern to a widespread strategic challenge.
 
Key facts:

• 65% of CHROs believe AI can improve performance for ‘most’ roles.
• Only half of tech professionals feel prepared for the disruption ahead.
• Research indicates that AI will raise the qualification requirements for employees.

 
Deeper dive:
 
Let’s be clear: ‘Technostress’ isn’t a new trend. The term was first coined over 40 years ago by Criag Brod, describing a “modern disease” rooted in our inability to cope with new technologies in a healthy manner.
 
But in 2026, our focus isn’t on ‘technostress’ itself. Rather, it’s the mutations of this trend and their impact on today’s workforce. Chief among them: FOBO, or the ‘fear of becoming obsolete’, which describes the anxiety that certain skills, knowledge and roles will become irrelevant due to technological advancements.
 
‘FOBO’ concerns surged in 2022 as generative AI went mainstream. By 2026, these individualistic fears will escalate into a defining strategic challenge for businesses. AI has moved beyond automating routine tasks. It’s now reshaping creative and strategic work - coding, writing, design - and augmenting performance across every function. In fact, 65% of leading CHROs believe that AI can “improve the performance of most roles” in their organisation.
 
As we shift from AI experimentation to full-scale integration, workflows will be redesigned and entire functions will shift focus. There’s a real risk that unless proactive upskilling takes place alongside these changes, talent will disengage and the AI literacy gap will continue to grow.
 
Research from Hays Germany underscores this urgency: 64% of respondents believe that the increasing use of AI will raise the qualification requirements for employees, while 58% see increased requirements for digital skills as a key driver for upskilling.
 
Are your people ready to work adjacent to AI? For many, the answer is no. Our Global Tech Talent Explorer illustrates how just half of tech professionals feel prepared for the disruption ahead. If your innovators are feeling the strain, imagine the impact on those further behind in their AI journey.
 
Key considerations for your organisation: 

• Wellbeing needs a digital lens: Audit your tech stack – does it simplify or overwhelm? Set clear boundaries to protect mental health.
• Pursue proactive upskilling: Training is a shared priority. Focus on enhancing AI literacy to build confidence and resilience across your workforce.
• Prioritise people: Communicate openly about how roles will evolve and ensure there are clear forums for people to voice concerns, ask questions and shape the future.

Trend 4: Why is Life Sciences leading industry growth?

 
Summary: The Life Sciences sector is entering a phase of ‘explosive growth’, driven by historic capital inflow and a global demand for smarter healthcare solutions.
 
Key facts:
 
Denmark, Sweden, Malaysia, Spain and Belgium are forecast to have the highest annual compound growth.

AI is accelerating progress, shortening clinical trial timelines and supporting scientific breakthroughs.
Less than 15% of talent within the sector is considered ‘AI-ready’.
 
Deeper dive:
 
From personalised treatments to adaptive clinical trials and regulatory modernisation, 2026 will see the Life Sciences sector enter a phase of explosive growth, driven by global demand for smarter, faster healthcare solutions.
 
Historic capital inflow over the last five years have laid the groundwork. Now, momentum is building.
 
The Hays Global Talent Tracker shows Life Sciences leading sector growth worldwide, with Denmark forecast to grow at a 22.8% compound annual rate, the highest of any sector included in our study. Sweden (15.4%), Malaysia (9.4%), Spain (9.1%) and Belgium (8.9%) complete the top five.
 
For James Nyssen, Global Head of Life Sciences at Hays, this is hardly surprising, given the speed at which new technologies enable us to accelerate:
 
“In the last year, we’ve seen quantum leaps. AI is now identifying new compounds and accelerating them into clinical trials in less than two years. This shift - from process improvement to scientific breakthroughs - is a game-changer. It’s knocking days off delivery timelines. And in this industry, 24 hours can equate to millions in savings.”
 
But with growth comes complexity. And the sector’s biggest challenge? Skills.
 
Demand is rising for talent that blends scientific expertise with digital fluency, “particularly in applying AI and data analytics to clinical research and regulatory compliance.” Yet, with less than 15% of current talent considered ‘AI-ready’, the sector risks stalling just as it’s getting started.
 
Our recent report with Everest Group shows that 63% of global enterprises view skills gaps as the “biggest barrier” to organisational transformation. 2026 will reward those who move early.
 
Our advice for navigating what comes next: 
 
New talent strategies for new talent challenges: Keeping pace with innovation demands both scale and agility. Contract workers will offer instantly deployable expertise; while outsourcing and offshoring will offer access to global skillsets.
Specialist skills must be built, not just bought: Niche specialisms require targeted training. Hire-train-deploy models enable organisations to build and deploy talent for custom requirements.
 

Trend 5: How can organisations establish trust in the AI era?

 
Summary: Fake and fraudulent workers are a growing threat, fuelled by AI.
 
Key facts:
 
LinkedIn has removed nearly 400 million fake profiles in under five years.
Technology is raising the stakes, enabling more sophisticated activities such as deep fakes, falsified documents and fabricated personas.
 
Deeper dive:
 
While AI is unlocking new opportunities, it’s also fuelling some of the most pressing challenges for the year ahead. Nowhere is this more evident – or urgent – than in our final trend: the rise of fake and fraudulent workers.
 
Recent advisories from bodies such as the UK’s Office of Financial Sanctions Implementation (OFSI) have emphasised the complexity of these activities. According to the OFSI advice, fraudulent workers - often operating as part of international networks - use false identities and sophisticated digital tools to secure remote roles globally. Virtual Private Networks (VPNs), proxies and alternative payment methods are used to mask their true identities and locations, making detection increasingly difficult.
 
Scott Cameron, Global Head of Service Delivery, Enterprise Solutions at Hays, describes the pressures driving this phenomenon:
 
“The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated a shift in hiring practices. Online verification, virtual onboarding and fully remote work were adopted at speed to maintain continuity and have since become embedded as hallmarks of workforce flexibility. But these well-intentioned changes have inadvertently opened new avenues for deception.
 
At the same time, organisations facing resource constraints often view compliance as an area ripe for efficiency gains. However, compressing due diligence in this way can create significant vulnerabilities.
 
It’s the perfect storm. Fake and fraudulent workers can take advantage of high volumes of applications, partly automated screening processes, under-resourced teams, disconnected processes and exposed systems. They can hide in plain sight and amongst a wall of noise, making detection increasingly difficult.”
 

Looking ahead to 2026

Pace, complexity and uncertainty keep organisations on the back foot. Unfortunately, there is no ‘silver bullet’. Robust, practical and varied safeguards that span people, processes and technology may mitigate some risks.
 
But those intent on committing fraud are constantly evolving, designing ever more sophisticated methods to stay a step ahead - not only of organisations, but of the security infrastructures and agencies of international and national bodies.
 
The question isn't whether this challenge will persist over the next 12 months, but how future iterations will test the resilience of hiring models. Fake and fraudulent workers stand as one of the most urgent realities shaping the future of work.
 
Prepare your organisation for what's next
From the explosive demand for AI-adjacent talent, to the urgent need to re-establish trust and enhance security in an era of sophisticated fraud, to the reinvention of early careers and the rise of FOBO, technology is no longer just a catalyst – it's the context for every decision you make.
 
As we look ahead, one thing is certain: the pace of change will only accelerate. The organisations that thrive in 2026 are those that move first, adapt fastest and lead with confidence.
 
Shape the future of you organisation with our support.