Not so many years ago, career ambition was seen as something to admire. Why bother with a job if you don’t want to get ahead? After all, aren’t folks who think small just losers? And who doesn’t dream of making it big one day! At least that’s what gets drilled into us at home, school, and even films from our earliest years.
But times change — and perhaps so has the way we look at certain things. Including what being a winner is … and what type of ambition is increasingly admired nowadays. Somehow, though I can’t pinpoint the exact date, working hard above all else (especially for younger folks) has been gradually pushed back as a balanced life begins to take center stage.
⇒ Why “Work Hard” Is NOT Always the Key To Success
A different kind of ambition
From their 2025 survey of Gen Z and Millennials, the accounting & consulting firm Deloitte offers some perspective on the subject. Their findings show that, while these generations still pursue money, they are far more focused on personal growth and learning — with well-being also a guiding factor. And they would like their managers to buy into this new vision.
Gen Zs are more focused on work/life balance than climbing the corporate ladder—only 6% say their primary career goal is to reach a leadership position. However, they don’t lack ambition. When asked the strongest reasons for choosing to work for their current employer, learning and development is in the top three.
But many Gen Zs and millennials feel their managers are missing the mark on key areas of their development. They want managers to provide guidance, inspiration, and mentorship, not just oversight of daily tasks.
For many younger employees, working is not the same as it was for prior generations. Their ambition is now aimed in a different direction. And this is driving a lot of managers crazy … leading to some prejudice (even when hiring) against the younger groups, who were once highly sought after.
And while employers also complain about an increasingly discouraging lack of basic skills, a big part of employer dissatisfaction is that many in the newer generations won’t buy into traditional roles and basic ideas about work. Even when it come to taking on leadership roles.
Executive search firm Stanton Chase offers these thoughts:
Stanford research helps explain why, finding that Gen Z prefers collaborative or rotating leadership models over traditional hierarchical structures. The consequences are already visible: Gallup’s latest data shows engagement among younger millennials and Gen Z has fallen five percentage points, with only 35% now engaged at work. Meanwhile, McKinsey research warns that 90% of organizations will face meaningful skills gaps in coming years, partly because the talent they’re counting on doesn’t want the roles they’re offering.
Now back to career ambition
OK. I took a bit of a detour to help set the scene for a new world of work for many, both employers and employees. So there is ambition … but for many it comes with a new definition of what success is. Not so much about money and climbing the corporate ladder, but about quality of life that recognizes the need for personal satisfaction and a rounded life.
Still, all professional surveys aside, there are also many people who just don’t buy into the ambition thing of any kind. They see their parents and the world around them and don’t envy what they see. Burnt out adults who gave their all to a company — that as they get on in years let them go. People whose work choices meant that their families took a back seat to “getting ahead”.
But nowadays for many getting ahead is more about family and friends and making time to pursue things they love that nourish their spirits rather than just their bank accounts. Though we all do have to eat and pay for basic life things like a place to live. And that’s where the balance factor gains footing over what some would call “success”. At least for newer generations, pursuit of a balanced life is gaining steam.
⇒ Career Success? All I Do Is Work!
Yet there’s also the clash of cultures as older ways resist some of these “newfangled” ideas. And as new ways of thinking may eventually affect the bottom lines of many workplaces — for good and maybe not so good. My crystal ball turns cloudy when I ask how all this will in time resolve. But my guess is that at some point a balance will be found there too, since the current model needs some serious fixing.
More posts to help
Is Work-Life Balance Possible or Just a Myth?
Bad Career Moves: Aiming for Careers That Don’t Work!
Career Goals: Put Small Steps to Work on Big Goals!
The Non-Linear Path to Happiness at Work
What Makes a Job Good?
Dreaming of a New Job Where the Grass Is Greener?
What If You Never Find Your Dream Job?
Daring To Imagine a Different Life!
Add your thoughts!