Furthermore, the acceleration of AI adoption will create an estimated 170 million new roles within five years; however, an estimated 92 million will be displaced1— creating a net gain but also significant transitional challenges that require proactive behavioral risk management. Employees also face mounting pressure to continuously upskill or risk becoming obsolete in their roles, threatening the organization's human capital investment.
According to the Gallagher's 2025 US Workforce Trends Report, organizations that proactively address these risks through comprehensive people strategies and cultivate strong risk awareness achieve better outcomes in employee engagement, productivity and retention.
How does reskilling help in addressing talent shortages?
According to the World Economic Forum, global talent shortages have reached critical levels under the economic risks category.1 The challenge isn't only about finding enough workers but also ensuring that existing employees have received adequate training in the skills required for future roles while preserving and enhancing the human capital base.
Strategic reskilling programs offer a solution that addresses multiple objectives simultaneously: closing capability gaps, improving employee engagement, demonstrating organizational commitment to worker development and building risk awareness around evolving job requirements.
Strategies for effective reskilling include:
- Skills gap analysis: Identify current and future skill requirements, then map existing workforce capabilities against these needs to understand workforce risk exposure.
- Personalized learning pathways: Create individualized development plans that align employee aspirations with organizational needs while addressing behavioral risk management through robust assessments.
- Continuous learning culture: Move beyond one-time training events to embed ongoing skill development into daily work through prioritization of people and culture initiatives.
Managing behavioral risk through team trust and loyalty
During periods of significant change, employees often experience anxiety about job security, role clarity and organizational direction. Without intentional trust-building efforts and effective behavioral risk management, this anxiety can spiral into disengagement, talent flight and active resistance to transformation initiatives.
Here are three ways to manage behavioral risk:
- Transparent communication and risk awareness: Provide regular updates about transformation progress, challenges and decisions to help employees understand both opportunities and risks.
- Empowerment through participation: Involve employees in decision-making processes related to transformation, particularly in decisions that directly affect their roles. This approach demonstrates respect for their expertise and enhances organizational risk awareness at all levels.
- Visible commitment to inclusion: Ensure transformation doesn't disproportionately impact specific demographic groups and that opportunities created through change remain accessible across the organization, protecting human capital diversity.
A positive approach to change management emphasizes helping leaders create environments where employees feel safe to voice concerns, ask questions and admit when they are struggling with new expectations. With this approach, organizations can maintain trust even through difficult transitions.
What are some of the wellbeing strategies required during workplace transformation?
- Mental health support: Provide access to counseling services, stress-management resources and psychological safety training for managers, particularly supporting leadership under pressure with tools to manage their own wellbeing while guiding teams.
- Physical health programs: Offer ergonomic assessments for remote workers, fitness initiatives and preventive health screenings that protect human capital from deterioration.
- Financial wellness: Help employees navigate economic uncertainty through financial-planning resources, which is particularly important as income inequality widens and cost-of-living pressures persist across different employee segments.
- Purpose and meaning: From a people and culture perspective, connect daily work to the broader organizational mission to help employees see their value beyond task execution.
From burnout to resilience: Employee wellbeing as a transformation strategy
Workplace transformation often exacerbates wellbeing challenges through increased stress and burnout, uncertainty about the future and the cognitive load of learning new systems and processes, also known as "change fatigue." These factors significantly amplify workforce risk if left unaddressed.
Organizations that invest in comprehensive employee wellbeing programs during transformation periods achieve tangible returns, including:
- Reduced absenteeism
- Higher productivity
- Improved retention
- Stronger employer brand reputation
These programs serve as critical behavioral risk management tools, identifying and addressing stress patterns before they escalate into more serious health or performance issues.
Source: 2025 Gallagher Benefits Benchmarks US Edition
Organizations are also recognizing the need to introduce voluntary benefits as a part of a holistic employee wellbeing package. These benefits aim to address the full spectrum of employee wellness — physical, mental, financial and social — allowing employers to expand their benefits portfolio without additional cost. In return, employees benefit from affordable access to services that support financial resilience.
In conclusion, sustainable workplace transformation requires balancing business objectives with human needs: strategic reskilling, comprehensive wellbeing support and leadership that maintains trust through uncertainty.
What leaders need to know about human risk
The following key questions provide leaders with practical insights into managing human risk during periods of transformation.
