It’s Time to Rethink Traditional Career Trajectories

The past few years have ushered in a tsunami of workforce, workplace, and workload changes going far beyond remote and hybrid work. Nearly every aspect of work is shifting in some way. Across generations, talent is questioning how, where, with whom, and even why to pursue a particular vocation or create a specific professional identity. Organizations are on both the giving and receiving ends of these shifts. On the one hand, companies are subject to these forces and under pressure from multiple (and often competing) stakeholders to respond responsibly. On the other hand, companies have an unprecedented opportunity to proactively craft new norms, structures, and policies that could positively shape work for decades to come.

Consider the following signals in terms of just how much jobs, careers, and the future of work are in flux:

• Job hopping is losing its stigma, with 22.3% of workers ages 20 and older spending one year or less at their jobs in 2022 (and 33% spending less than two years), and employee turnover showing few signs of slowing down.

• Freelance and independent work continues to grow faster than traditional employment and currently represent 36% of the American workforce.

• Quiet quitting and “lying flat” are persistent trends, and a form of protest around workplace norms and expectations.

• Insta-work and the gig economy are leapfrogging traditional job application and interview processes, replacing them with apps and automated credentialing.

• Programmers can do things like outsource their jobs, continuing to get top performance reviews and spending their days surfing the internet instead, without their employer’s knowledge.

• And of course, all of this is being disrupted by the wave of generative AI, which is already having profound effects on the nature of jobs, the skills needed to succeed, and who stands to benefit versus be left out.

Taken together, these forces can easily leave HR leaders wondering what’s next. Will your company adapt or be left behind?

More practically, this can leave individuals feeling that no career is “safe” (so why not job-hop or quietly quit?), no job offer is reliable (so why not go independent or jump into the gig economy?), and no company would actually keep or satisfy them over the long term — because the long-term is one giant unknown. Work begins to resemble a minefield of potential crises. The question becomes: Will you personally adapt or be left behind?

Here’s how both HR leaders and individuals can start to rethink career trajectories in ways that are future-ready, today.

Rethinking a Career “Crisis”

Individually, let’s begin by looking at how a “crisis” is typically discussed and seen. In the West, the word crisis typically conjures up images of doom and devastation. The English word comes from the Greek word krísis, meaning an act of judgment or determination. In this view, a world — or a future of work— in flux is a crisis on steroids. Dystopia has arrived; we might as well throw in the towel.

But not all crises are negative.

The Chinese word for crisis is wēijī (危机). Wēijī is composed of two symbols: wēi, which represents “danger,” and jī, which represents a turning or “change point.” At the risk of sounding cliche: Crisis is a challenge, but one that demands awareness, sparks curiosity, and opens possibility.

Over the past century, the word crisis has often been associated with midlife — the proverbial “midlife crisis” when one’s identity, self-confidence, and mortality often face inner turmoil. Did you know, however, that the word “midlife” didn’t even exist until 1904? (Prior to that time, if you made it to your 50s, you were considered lucky and wise — and old!) A midlife crisis is a recent phenomenon, entirely human-created, and unhelpful for today’s society. Thanks to the work of people like Chip Conley, founder of the Modern Elder Academy, we are gradually beginning to reframe the midlife crisis — and any life transition — as a period of transformation and rebirth. Crisis is rather chrysalis, and the best is still to come.

Applying this lens to our careers can yield insights and new opportunities, especially when the world seems upside-down. It begins with a few simple questions designed to boost your self-awareness:.

• What is your attitude about, or default reaction to, changes you can’t control? For example, does uncertainty tend to pique your curiosity or make you run for the hills?

• What is your attitude about unexpected career changes? If you were to lose your job tomorrow, would you see that as a tragedy that cuts at the heart of your identity (career identity crisis) or the opening you’ve been waiting for (career identity chrysalis)? What if it was your closest colleague? We often criticize ourselves for the very same thing we celebrate in others that we care about. Recognizing this can help you recalibrate your perspective.

• Under what circumstances might your answers to these questions differ?

The ability to see unexpected and unwanted change from a place of hope rather than fear, and as an opportunity to learn and grow rather than to resist or deny, is what I call a Flux Mindset. Think of it as your mental muscle for change. You can’t control getting let go from a job any more than you can avoid entering midlife. Of course, there are many things you can do to increase the likelihood of keeping a job or advancing to a new role. But insofar as someone else gave you that job, even if you enjoy and excel at it, there remains an inevitable risk that it could be taken away.

This fact makes many people anxious, and justifiably so. The rapid ascent and power of generative AI has amplified these concerns. No job feels safe, no career path is certain, and previously “secure” professions may be under threat. Against this backdrop, how can we harness a Flux Mindset today in order to better prepare for the future?

One key lies in how we see, and talk about, the shape of our careers – which holds insight and opportunity for individuals and HR alike.

From Career “Path” to Career Portfolio

Organizationally, since the First Industrial Revolution began roughly 250 years ago, careers have been shaped as ladders to climb or paths to pursue. Employers design the arrangement and hire people onto different rungs. In each case, there is only one direction of success: Up. Today, we are in the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and a lot has changed in the past two centuries. There are many paths to success and few of them are linear. In fact, the linear model doesn’t offer much in terms of adaptation or flexibility. Both talent and HR feel these constraints. The ladder isn’t necessarily obsolete, however it is only one small piece of a much larger career development pie.

We are stuck in the language of ladders, and we have a choice — and opportunity — to craft vocabulary that is better suited to today’s reality. Rather than climbing a ladder, the career of the future is a portfolio to curate. For individuals, career portfolios are designed to adapt, evolve, and uniquely represent you. For organizations, career portfolios represent the future of HR. A portfolio approach embraces career transitions as chrysalis, not crisis. It is fit for a world in flux.

Language matters. When we use outdated terms, we remain stuck in outdated systems. When we describe careers as ladders, this metaphor reflects neither what talent sees nor what the future of work offers, and we find ourselves stuck – and frustrated — at an impasse. Career portfolios open up a new kind of conversation that can be had by employers and employees, talent and companies alike. The key is to go beyond linearity. Other metaphors include career lattices, jungle gyms, and bento boxes. The point is: The future of work is not linear. It’s multi-dimensional and ever-changing. Career resilience is as important, if not more important, than career development. Portfolios grow and evolve, while ladders wobble and fall. Which would you prefer? And which reflects a more sustainable, agile HR strategy?

Many people and companies understand these shifts, but we aren’t using this language yet. It’s time to expand our vocabulary, start designing and offering career portfolios, and shift from crisis to chrysalis management. Not only is this smart business today, it also helps prepare talent — and HR — for whatever changes are ahead. For example, General Mills has an internal talent marketplace in which employees can advance laterally, learn new skills, and forge new leadership avenues. PwC’s Talent Exchange engages external talent alongside PwC teams, leveraging broader skillsets than a traditional org chart. Tomato processing company Morning Star enables employees to reshape their job descriptions to be more in line with the core parts of themselves (“looking beyond the resume”). These examples reflect a portfolioist spirit in function, if not in name.

In a future of work rife with uncertainty, we must update our mindsets, expectations, and terminology. Career portfolios and career chrysalises are not silver bullets, but they are essential factors that help shape a future of work in more accessible, equitable, flux-friendly ways.

Copyright 2023 Harvard Business School Publishing Corporation. Distributed by The New York Times Syndicate.

Explore AAPL Membership benefits.