Workspan Daily News Bytes for Jan. 30, 2026

Despite Cost Constraints, Employers Keep Investing in Leave Programs

Nearly 73% of U.S. employers plan to enhance their leave programs over the next two years, according to research published Monday, Jan. 26, by consulting firm WTW.

WTW’s 2025 Absence, Disability and Medical Leave Survey found organizations are expanding multiple forms of time-away benefits to better meet workforce needs:

More than 80% of surveyed employers offer parental leave, and 16% expect to enrich those programs.
18% of employers plan to expand bereavement leave by increasing duration or broadening eligibility.
Caregiver leave is expected to nearly double — from 22% to 39% — over the next two years.

Employers cite improving the employee experience (67%) and strengthening attraction and retention (60%) as the top drivers behind these planned enhancements.

“Leave programs have become a strategic differentiator for employers competing for talent,” said Alex Henry, WTW’s group benefits leader. “Enhancing leave programs can be a cost-effective way to improve well-being, strengthen culture and meet the evolving expectations of a modern workforce.”

Interest in unlimited paid time off (PTO) also is on the rise. WTW’s survey found:

27% of employers offer unlimited PTO today, with nearly 32% planning to do so by 2028.
Currently, 15% of employers offer unlimited PTO to exempt employees, up from 12% two years ago, and 18% expect to offer it within the next two years.

In addition, employers are exploring the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in the leave experience. Although 66% of surveyed employers remain uncertain about how AI is used today, nearly 70% express openness to using AI for routine case management tasks.

Report Finds Top Hiring Teams Scale with AI, Not Headcount

Ninety percent of organizations missed their hiring goals in 2025, according to a Hiring Insights Report, released on Tuesday, Jan. 27, by HR software company GoodTime.

The report, which featured responses from 500 U.S. talent acquisition (TA) leaders, also found:

99.8% of TA teams use, pilot or plan to use AI agents.
High-performing TA teams (those that achieved 75% goal attainment or more) were significantly less likely to increase headcount, relying instead on automation and workflows orchestrated by AI to improve efficiency.
Recruiters spent 38% of their time scheduling interviews — the single-biggest operational tax measured.
60% of organizations saw time-to-hire increase, while only 1 in 9 managed to hire faster.
Fraudulent or AI-assisted candidates are now the No. 1 anticipated hiring challenge in 2026, surpassing lack of qualified talent.

The report suggests TA teams that rely on manual coordination (and attempt to keep pace with growth by adding hiring headcount) are falling behind, while those that redesign hiring around AI-enabled systems are pulling ahead.

“The hiring challenge in 2026 isn’t about adding more people or cutting teams. It’s about redesigning how hiring work gets done,” said Ahryun Moon, GoodTime’s CEO and co-founder. “The teams that are outperforming everyone else aren’t increasing or reducing headcount. They’ve restructured their organizations around an AI-enabled future, where automation handles coordination and complexity, so humans keep their focus on judgment, relationships and the moments that truly require a human touch.”

CEOs Grapple with Uneven Returns as Revenue Outlook Declines

CEO confidence about revenue growth has fallen to its lowest level in five years, according to PwC’s Global CEO Survey, released on Monday, Jan. 19.

The consulting firm surveyed 4,454 CEOs in 95 countries and territories and found only 30% of the CEOs are confident about revenue growth over the next 12 months — down from 38% in 2025 and 56% in 2022.

Among the key findings from this year’s survey:

Most CEOs said their organizations aren’t yet seeing a financial return from investments in AI. Although close to a third (30%) report increased revenue from AI in the last 12 months and a quarter (26%) are seeing lower costs, more than half (56%) say they’ve realized neither revenue nor cost benefits.
CEOs are seeking growth opportunities outside of their sectors. More than 40% said their companies have started to compete in new sectors in the last five years. Among those planning large acquisitions over the next three years, 40% expect to do deals in other sectors or industries.
Almost a third of CEOs (29%) said tariffs will reduce their organization’s net profit margin over the next 12 months. The majority (60%) expect little to no change. Among those expecting margin compression, most anticipate only a slight decline.
Two-thirds of CEOs (66%) said stakeholder trust concerns have arisen in at least one area of business operations over the last 12 months. There’s a significant gap in total shareholder returns over this period between public companies experiencing the most and the fewest trust concerns, according to the survey.

“In periods of rapid change, the instinct to slow down is understandable — but it’s also risky. The value at stake across the global economy is increasing, and the window to capture it is narrowing,” said PwC global chair Mohamed Kande. “The companies that succeed will be those willing to make bold decisions and invest with conviction in the capabilities that matter most.”

So, Which Workforce Generation Has the Strongest Work Ethic?

When it comes to work ethic, 46% of surveyed U.S. workers think Baby Boomers are the strongest, followed by Generation X at 26%, millennials at 19% and Gen Z at 9%. This is according to Zety’s Generational Leadership Report, published Wednesday, Jan. 14.

The career-builder website surveyed 1,026 American workers and found:

66% said younger generations are more likely to “job hop,” reinforcing persistent perceptions about retention and commitment.
Gen Z’s communication style is reported as the most difficult to navigate in meetings (46%).
49% have no interest in becoming managers, with the top reason being a desire to avoid stress and people management responsibilities (59%).
Despite workplace perceptions, 36% of millennials and 35% of Gen Z aspire to become managers.

“The perception that younger workers lack ambition is misleading. Many Gen Z and millennials are motivated to take on leadership roles, even while navigating new communication norms and evolving workplace expectations,” said Jasmine Escalera, a career expert at Zety. “Companies that invest in mentoring, skill development and cross-generational collaboration can cultivate a strong leadership pipeline that benefits the entire organization.”

Job Cuts Announced at Amazon, UPS

On Wednesday, Jan. 28, Amazon confirmed a second round of job cuts as the tech giant pushes for AI and efficiency. The newly announced 16,000 job cuts will affect about 10% of Amazon’s corporate workforce. The first round was conducted in October, resulting in 14,000 job losses.

The news comes after Amazon announced it would close its remaining brick-and-mortar Fresh grocery stores and Go markets. Other impacted employees include those in multiple Amazon web services units, as well as units responsible for the Alexa voice assistant, Prime Video, devices, advertising and last-mile delivery. Additional roles affected include those in Kindle and supply chain optimization, a group within Amazon’s fulfillment unit.

Package delivery company UPS also announced on Jan. 28 it was planning to cut up to 30,000 operational jobs this year as it continues its efforts to reduce the number of Amazon shipments that it handles.

Last year, UPS started on a plan to reduce dependency on Amazon, its largest customer, and focus on higher-profit areas such as healthcare customers.

UPS also is looking to close 24 buildings in the first half of the year and is evaluating additional buildings to close later in the year.

Figures and Facts of the Week

6: The percentage of U.S. job postings in 2025 that were fully remote, according to the U.S. Remote Work Statistics and Trends report from careers website JobLeads.
17: The percentage of survey respondents who said their organizations are deeply empathetic; across roles, 62% of leaders perceived supportive levels of empathy, compared to 41% of managers and only 21% of individual contributors, according to a State of Organizational Health Report by professional development company Dale Carnegie.
27: The percentage of United Kingdom workers who are worried their jobs could disappear in the next five years as a result of AI, according to a survey by international recruitment company Randstad. The survey also found 45% of U.K. office workers believed AI would benefit employers more than employees.
31: The percentage of U.S. employees who are actively engaged at work in 2025, unchanged from 2024, according to Gallup’s latest employee engagement survey. This follows several years of decline from a high of 36% in 2020, which came after a decade of steady growth.
92: The percentage of organizations planning to increase their AI investments over the next three years, according to new research from global management consulting firm McKinsey. While nearly all the surveyed leaders are investing in AI, only 1% call their companies “mature” on the deployment spectrum.

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