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Breaking Job News: Microsoft RTO, AI-Proof Careers, And Q4 Hiring Outlook

• Pete Newsome

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In this week’s Job Market News, host Pete Newsome breaks down the latest workplace trends and hiring insights. Microsoft has ordered employees back to the office at least three days a week, joining other major companies pushing return-to-office mandates.

We’ll also spotlight the careers considered most AI-proof, including jobs in healthcare and skilled trades, while emphasizing the importance of adaptability in an AI-driven workplace. Next, Pete discusses Q4 hiring projections, highlighting both challenges and opportunities for job seekers and employers. Finally, we explore the value of employee recognition in today’s competitive job market. Plus, a fun fact about a strange job from medieval times!

Tune in for the latest updates on return-to-office policies, AI-proof careers, hiring forecasts, and workplace culture trends.

New Articles:
1. Microsoft RTO: https://www.businessinsider.com/microsoft-send-employees-back-to-office-rto-remote-work-2025-9
2. AI-proof careers: https://www.businessinsider.com/ai-politics-professor-shares-jobs-least-likely-be-automated-2025-9
3. Q4 Hiring: https://www.staffingindustry.com/news/global-daily-news/employers-to-take-cautious-approach-to-hiring-in-q4
4. Employee recognition: https://blog.rewardian.com/praise-in-the-age-of-ai-what-employees-really-think-about-recognition

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Blog Articles: https://www.4cornerresources.com/blog/

Pete Newsome:

Today's job market headlines include AI-proof jobs, hiring, projections for Q4, and the value of employee recognition in an AI world. But first Microsoft is officially sending employees back to the office. Starting in February, employees within 50 miles of a company office are required to be on site at least three days a week. They have Fridays designated as a remote day. This news was delivered yesterday in a company-wide email. It emphasized each business will do what is best for their team. Now this means some groups will have stricter policies, some will have looser than the baseline of three days it's been established. But that to me sounds like a disaster in the making. I mean, you have people who are already pissed at this news and now it's going to be even worse. They're going to be more upset when some groups are getting better outcomes from this than others. Now Microsoft is making this move after a bunch of other big companies have done it Amazon, google, nbcuniversal, paramount just in the last couple of days, they've all made recent RTO announcements and they're changing their policies, and I think that is just an awful thing to do. If someone had been hired for a remote job, to change it up on them, that is just unrealistic, it is unfair and it's just awful. And these companies know that people can't just pick up stakes and move, so in many ways it sounds like it's a layoff and a reduction of staff without actually claiming it as such, and I think that makes it even more shady and even worse. So so much for flexibility. It sounds like that is quickly becoming a thing of the past for many large employers.

Pete Newsome:

In other news, business Insider shares careers considered the safest bet if you're worried about AI taking your job. This comes from a politics of AI professor at Syracuse University. She argues that care jobs like nursing, primary and nursery school teaching are the least likely to be automated, and the reason is they rely on empathy, judgment, social connection elements that AI simply can't mimic at least not yet. Hopefully no time soon. She also encourages trades as a career. We hear about that a lot lately, relatively AI proof, at least for the foreseeable future, but she highlights advanced manufacturing roles as safe bets.

Pete Newsome:

I disagree with that. I think anything in automation is a bad choice to go into right now, or specifically anything that could be automated by AI or robots, not just today, but a year from now, five years from now. Things are changing so rapidly I would assume the worst and then act accordingly. Now. She also said that, as AI takes over professions, adaptability will matter just as much as initial job choice, and I agree with that too. It's an important message, especially for anyone who's young, because we just don't know exactly where ai is taking us, or do we know how fast we'll get there. So it's critical to stay on top of anything that could impact your profession again, not just for tomorrow, but for the years in advance, so pay close attention to what's on the horizon. It's much easier said than done, I realize that, so I'll continue to share updates and news as soon as I see it.

Pete Newsome:

Next, according to staffing industry analysts, global hiring is slowing, but not stopping, as employers shift from growth mode to caution in Q4. And this comes from a manpower group survey that showed 45% of employers worldwide plan to hold headcount steady in Q4 2025. So that's relatively good news. We're surrounded by a lot of bad right now, so we'll take it. 38% expect to add jobs and 15% anticipate cuts. So that gives a net employment outlook of 23%, and that's slightly down from Q3, but not by too much. One thing I found surprising and contradictory in this survey was that 46% of the employers say they struggle to attract qualified talent. That just doesn't make sense to me right now. It is very much an employer's market, unfortunately, we know that, and almost half are struggling to find talent. It just doesn't seem to line up. It makes me question what they're doing and, to some degree, the validity of the survey as a whole and our final headline.

Pete Newsome:

Today, in a new national survey of 1,000 US workers from Rewardian, 83% said recognition matters more than ever as AI becomes entrenched in how we work. That's to be expected, I mean. Recognition is always something that employees value. But what I found really surprising is that 60% also said AI delivered recognition is just as meaningful as if it came from a manager. What the hell is that about? Think about that for a second AI recognition that is automated and is driven by some trigger that is far from personal, that is not as meaningful as recognition coming from an actual human. Let's not confuse those things. I mean just a really weird stat for me to see from this survey. Also in the survey, two-thirds of the respondents said AI is helping them feel less stressed and more supported. I hope that's because AI is helping them with their jobs and not because they're deriving emotional support from AI. And then, finally, 76% said their company is transparent about how AI impacts performance and culture. So that's good to see. I mean, most of these employees feel that their employers are being transparent. That's just always a positive and something I think is very, very important, especially in these times of constant change and a lot of bad news coming.

Pete Newsome:

Always communicate with your teams and keep them in the loop wherever possible. I'll take that as good news. And then our fun fact for the day before we go the term whipping boy. It was actually a job that existed In medieval times. A prince would have a whipping boy who was punished in his place for his misdeeds. How inhumane is that? Hey, if nothing else, we've evolved past those days, to say the least. So that is also some good news for the day. So thank you for listening. Please like, subscribe, share with anyone who you think might be interested, and if you have comments, I'd love to hear those too. Talk to you soon.