What Happened to Climbing the Corporate Ladder?

In the nineties and aughts, an employee in their early thirties would quietly wait for jobs above them to open up. To get that big promotion might take two years or seven, but patience was part of the game: The corporate climb was a slow one, and it paid out in the end. It was in advertisements all the time: The best things come to those who wait.

These days, the allure of the corporate ladder, a fixture at many firms, is fading. Today’s thirtysomething is just as likely to propose going on a van-life sabbatical—then quit—as they are to ask for a promotion. Just 41% of workers plan to follow the traditional corporate path, and 72% say that climbing the ladder is “outdated,” according to figures from talent group Randstad. The data is part of an ongoing misalignment between mostly younger workers and corporate leaders that shows up in several areas, such as return-to-office policies and booming interest in side gigs. Some experts worry that leaders are not getting the message behind these developments. “There’s a disconnect,” says organizational strategist Kim Waller, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “I don’t think they’re listening.”

To be sure, executives have good reason to be dismissive of the latest shift in career flexibility. Most spent the eighties and nineties paying their dues; they expect today’s up-and-comers to do the same. Any other path is hard for them to conceive. The result: Few C-suite residents have perceived the sea change in career outlook, and those who do “are just not equipped to deal with it,” says tech expert Moses Zonana, senior client partner at Korn Ferry. “Most workers aren’t expecting to stay put through a standard track.”

The stakes for firms are enormous. Most have struggled with producing revenue growth, which often depends on an engaged and productive workforce. Yet a shocking 60 percent of millennial workers report not only that they don’t like their job, but also that they’re seeking some external excuse—like being laid off—to finally leave it.

While linear career paths are taking a hit,  so-called “portfolio” careers have come into vogue, with 38% of employees saying that they would like to try different kinds of jobs over the course of their work lives, according to the same data. Nearly half cite work-life balance as their top reason to stay in a job, while only 23% cite pay. Current corporate career messaging not only doesn’t reflect their outlook, but tends to turn them off. “Corporate jobs suffer from a lack of imagination in how they market themselves,” says David Vied, global sector leader for medical devices and diagnostics.

To be sure, today’s tight job market, though starting to improve, doesn’t offer many workers the option of simply bolting, but some have engaged in various forms of so-called quiet quitting. For corporate leaders, experts say, the only answer is to quickly reset and undertake a major overhaul of job tracks for workers. The fact that most leaders are not doing so worries many analysts. “It’s not being made a priority,” says Anya Weaver, a principal consultant at Korn Ferry. And while the job market is tight, workers have far more opportunities than firms realize: Many can scrape by with multiple part-time jobs or dip into stints in gig-economy work like carsharing or delivery. To understand this new landscape will require a serious shift in the worldview of executives who climbed the career ladder. “There are more options, and leaders need to learn to sell against them,” says JP Sniffen, practice leader at the Military Center of Expertise at Korn Ferry.

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