A Millennial Midlife Crisis?

The group making up the largest segment of the US workforce may be suffering from career ennui—and at a huge cost to firms.

More than half of millennials, 55%, feel unsettled with their careers, or say they’re still figuring them out, according to a new survey from career training firm ELVTR. Perhaps more surprising, an eye-popping 59% of them admit that, even in a tough job market, they’re looking for some external excuse—like being laid off—to finally leave a job they don’t like. “Conventional wisdom would say people fear losing their jobs more than anything,” says Tamara Rodman, a Korn Ferry senior client partner in the firm’s Culture, Change and Communications practice.

This data point reinforces what many leaders have known for some time: A large swath of the workforce, regardless of age, isn’t particularly enthusiastic about their jobs. The percentage of US employees who are actively engaged at work averaged 31% in 2025, according to Gallup’s annual survey. Engagement peaked at 36% in 2020 and has been declining ever since.

But sagging interest from millennials (the group born between 1980 and 1996) has major implications, because they now hold a dominant position in the corporate world. Millennials make up the single largest share of the US workforce, at 36%, and recently have become the largest cohort in management roles. Surveys show that their engagement continues to falter, with many of these workers, now anywhere between their late 30s and mid-40s, feeling that their career development has been stymied. In 2020, 42% said they had opportunities at work to learn and grow; in 2025, only 31% did. Meanwhile, work-life balance remains paramount for this group. “Organizations should be asking themselves, ‘How can we make it easier for employees to do that and live their lives?’” says Maria Amato, who leads Korn Ferry’s Employee Value Proposition business.

To be sure, the midlife crisis, so to speak, comes at a time when most company leaders have become increasingly impatient with disengaged workforces, and are hoping that AI will step in when workers don’t step up. Pushed by stakeholders, C-suite leaders are struggling in a fast-changing world to keep up with the competition. “For now, good leaders are conflicted—putting empathy second and focusing intensely on finding growth in a slow-growth world while trying to figure out AI,” says Alan Guarino, a Korn Ferry vice chairman in the firm’s Board and CEO Services practice.

Still, experts say that both demographic and survey data confirm that company leaders will benefit if they do a better job of showing employees how their daily work impacts the firm overall. “Most employees consistently want some alignment with respect to values and purpose,” says Kim Waller, a Korn Ferry senior client partner in the firm’s Organizational Strategy practice. Stronger trust could go a long way toward overcoming those feelings of dissatisfaction. In Korn Ferry’s Workforce 2025 survey, trust and confidence in leadership emerged as top priorities for global employees, and 80% of workers surveyed said that they would stay in a job because they have a manager they trust.

Of course, some of the discontent may resolve itself; this kind of midlife work crisis has been observed in each of the millennials’ three generational predecessors. Whether many of these disaffected millennials will act on their professional discontent remains to be seen. According to the ELVTR survey, only 25% said they were actively planning a career pivot. The current state of the job market might also deter people who would otherwise be looking to jump ship. Many workers stay in their jobs so they can put food on the table, Waller says. It’s only when their backs are against the proverbial wall, or some other factor compels them to, that many people will seek out work that is more closely aligned with their purpose and values.

Learn more about Korn Ferry’s Employee Experience capabilities. 

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