Sixty per cent of employees are planning to move jobs this year, a new Aon study suggests.

According to the global professional services firm, many people are considering a “hustle reset”, with three fifths of those in an international survey already moving on from their workplace, or planning to do so this year.

Aon’s 2025 Human Capital Employee Sentiment Study of more than 9,000 people found that a majority of workers have their eye on their next move and do not feel motivated to grow their skill set as they prioritise wellbeing and work-life balance.

The firm said this showed that many people were feeling widespread dissatisfaction with their jobs.

“Moreover, employees surveyed showed a low commitment to improving their artificial intelligence skill set, as just over a third of employees, globally, feel motivated to develop new skills to stay relevant when asked about the new technology,” Aon said.

Researchers found that employers and employees had different perspectives on AI.

Twenty-two per cent of founders and C-suite executives believed that AI would significantly replace jobs in their field, but only 11 per cent of entry-level employees shared that view.

The latter group were 64 per cent more likely to be unsure of the impact AI would have on their roles and 31 per cent less likely to think it would create new opportunities that required new skills in their field.

At the same time, demand for flexibility is on the rise, as employees rank work-life balance benefits, such as job sharing or technology-free hours, as the third most valued benefit.

Gen Z workers, people born between 1997 and 2012, ranked work-life balance programmes as their second most-valued benefit, just behind medical benefits.

It was more important to them than paid vacation, career development and retirement savings.

“Taken together, these results illustrate that employees around the world are reassessing their relationship to their employer and, more broadly, the hustle culture of burnout and always-on ethos that has defined recent years of discourse around the future of work,” Aon said.

The firm is calling this phenomenon the Hustle Reset.

“It is a common belief that the employee trends that took hold during the Great Resignation of 2021 and 2022 are over, but our study results show a more nuanced picture of the workforce landscape,” said Lambos Lambrou, Aon chief executive officer of human capital.

“Despite cooling in the job market, employees are re-evaluating their values and priorities and, as they look for their next move, prioritising employers that will support their life outside of work.”

Aon’s study results revealed that a strong company culture helped employers recruit and retain top talent amid the Hustle Reset.

Behind competitive pay and benefits, employees are seeking businesses that are considered a fun place to work and a strong fit with personal values, over all other factors.

“The results of our inaugural Human Capital Employee Sentiment Study reveal that employee expectations are shifting and the war for talent is far from over,” Aon chief administrative officer Lisa Stevens said.

“Employers feel more pressure than ever to deliver a superior experience that retains strong talent.”