The traditional narrative of career success has always been clear: climb the corporate ladder, seek promotions, and reach for increasingly senior positions. However, a significant shift is occurring in workplace culture, with many professionals actively choosing to step away from the relentless pursuit of advancement.
Consider Zack, an elder millennial in his early forties, whose career trajectory exemplifies this evolving mindset. His early career followed the conventional playbook perfectly. Starting as an apprentice, he dreamed of becoming a foreman. After achieving that goal, he set his sights even higher, pursuing larger projects and bigger teams. His ambition ultimately carried him into corporate leadership, where he rose to head an entire department.
Then came the pandemic—a watershed moment that forced many to reevaluate their priorities. For Zack, remote work during lockdown became an unexpected window into an alternative lifestyle. "At lunchtime, I could go running for 45 minutes," he reflects. "All these things I used to love to do, I started doing again. I was like, oh my God, I never want to give up this life."
The turning point arrived when his company pushed for a premature return to office, demanding he enforce this policy on his team—including those with immunocompromised family members. "That was a betrayal from a company I had been incredibly dedicated to," he says. "After that, I was like, well, fuck. I was dedicated to this thing, and it was all a big fucking lie."
His response was decisive: he quit, taking a position with less responsibility and a $20,000 pay cut. Today, he thrives as an individual contributor, so much so that he recently declined another promotion opportunity.
This shift isn't isolated to experienced professionals. Younger workers, particularly Gen Z, are showing even less interest in traditional career advancement. Recent research by Randstad found that Gen Z respondents were more likely than their millennial or Gen X counterparts to explicitly state they don't want career progression. A separate Gallup survey revealed that Gen Z workers are especially wary of the demanding schedules and constant availability expected in senior leadership roles.
While some senior executives might dismiss this as simple laziness, the reality is more complex. The workplace landscape has transformed dramatically over recent decades. Job security, once a given for management positions, has become increasingly precarious. As James, a systems analyst, notes about his employer: "They always do layoffs every two or three years. I don't want to come up higher on the list as someone who's getting paid more."
Moreover, the promise of promotion often comes with an unexpected downside: decreased job satisfaction. Management scholars have termed this phenomenon "managerial blues"—the paradox where higher positions often involve less of the meaningful work that initially drew people to their fields. As Michel Anteby, a professor at Boston University, explains, "Everybody wants to be the VP or the partner with the corner office. The imagination is that life will be much better then. But in fact, you might be losing out on something very meaningful to you."
This raises a crucial question for employers: how do you motivate employees when the traditional carrot of promotion loses its appeal? The answer lies in what truly drives workers like Zack and James. They cite factors such as engaging work, schedule autonomy, peer respect, supportive management, and meaningful impact as their primary motivators.
For Zack, these elements inspire his best work: "I do work extra. I really do try hard." James echoes this sentiment, finding motivation in skill development and his hospital work's impact on patient care: "I like my job and I want to keep getting better at it. And since I work at a hospital, I'm helping nurses and providers help their patients."
The message for employers is clear: the era of using promotions as the primary motivator is ending. Companies can no longer rely on advancement opportunities alone to drive engagement in roles that are unfulfilling, toxic, or poorly managed. Instead, they must focus on creating positions that are inherently rewarding and meaningful. While the allure of climbing the corporate ladder may be fading, the desire to do meaningful work remains stronger than ever.
The shift away from careerism doesn't signal the end of the American work ethic—it merely highlights an evolution in how workers define success and fulfillment in their professional lives.