Shifting Attitudes Towards Work and Career: There’s No Going Back to Pre-Pandemic Priorities

Work life and home life are no longer siloed and separate, according to the results from our second annual State of Work and Career Success survey. In fact, over 60% of U.S. workers agree that work and career are integrated in their personal life. And the pandemic certainly seems to have accelerated this view.

Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index adds some additional context, reporting that “53% of employees are more likely to prioritize health and wellbeing over work than before the pandemic” and “47% of respondents say they are more likely to put family and personal life over work than they were before the pandemic.”

The real shift is an AND, not an OR. It’s not about personal or professional, purpose or profit. It’s all increasingly connected.

Flexibility isn’t a Perk, It’s a Requirement

Giving people the flexibility to work where and when they want is critical. Over 60% of the workers we surveyed believe that’s how they work best.

And this attitude is only going to become more dominant as the demographics of the workplace continue to shift. Microsoft’s 2022 Work Trend Index revealed a huge gap between Gen-Z and everyone else when it comes to flexibility, mobility, and entrepreneurial freedom; they’re more likely to change jobs, more likely to shift to hybrid work, more likely to shift to remote work, more likely to seek out a side gig, more likely to move because remote work enables them to, and significantly more likely to engage with a company on LinkedIn if it mentions flexibility (77% for Gen-Z vs. 30% for Millennials).

Individuality & Personal Development

52% of U.S. workers agree that their professional ambition isn’t tied to being part of a company. This signals a continued shift from conformity — tying one’s professional identity and success to the organization they work for — to individual agency. 

There is also a recognition that skills development, whether it’s in or outside their chosen field, should never be stagnant. On top of that, over half of Gen Z (52%) and millennials (55%) expect their employer to be responsible for preparing them for the future of work.

And if organizations can’t or won’t offer the flexibility that people want, if organizations won’t support people holistically on their career journey, then employees will go elsewhere to find those that do or go independent. And again, this is especially true for younger generations. 

In the 11th annual State of Independence in America from MBO Partners, they saw an “unprecedented” increase in independent workers in 2021: from 38.2M in 2020 to 51.1M in 2021, an increase of 34% year over year.

MBO Partners also reported their highest level of independent worker satisfaction ever, an astonishing 77% of independent workers surveyed saying that they are highly satisfied.

This is great news for people looking to take more control over their life — but terrible news for organizations already struggling to keep talent.