Ambition is no longer viewed purely as career progression. Work-life balance, flexibility, equity and skilling are now at the heart of career decisions according to a new research by Netherlands-based recruitment group Randstad.
The survey that included 27,000 workers in 34 markets across Europe, Asia Pacific and the Americas shows that while over half (56%) of workers consider themselves to be ambitious, rising to 69% for GenZ, this doesn’t correlate to the traditional understanding of career aspirations.
Half (47%) of workers are not focused on progression at all, and the same proportion are willing to stay in a role that they like, even if there’s no room to progress or develop. Meanwhile, a third (34%) of workers never want to take on any managerial roles, found the research.
Staff are also more likely to consider work-life balance (93%), flexibility of working hours (81%) and mental health support (83%) as important. These rank higher than career ambition (70%).
The research indicates that not wanting career progression does not mean employees have no interest in self-improvement, with nearly three-quarters (72%) ranking training and development opportunities as important. Meanwhile, nearly a third (29%) would quit a job if they weren’t offered learning and development opportunities to future-proof their skills, such as training on AI.
Randstad said that at the same time, workers are continually demanding more equitable workplaces where they feel they belong and expect employers to deliver on this.
Staff also want to work for businesses that mirror their own views and values, with a third (38%) saying they wouldn’t accept a job if they didn’t agree with the viewpoints of the leadership.
Over a third (37%) of global talent also said that they would not accept a job if an organisation wasn’t making a proactive effort to improve its diversity and equity. In instances where their employer did not take action on an issue that was important to them, a fifth (21%) have quit their job, with the number rising to 30% among Gen Z. M