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- A new workplace phenomenon called quiet ambition is gaining momentum in the US.
- The subtle yet powerful concept challenges the traditional notions of ambition and attaining corporate titles and achievements.
- But is this trend also prevalent in South Africa?
- For more stories, visit the Tech and Trends homepage.
In recent years, because of a number
of factors, including the Covid-19 pandemic, the workplace landscape has been
in a constant state of evolution with employees redefining what workplace
success means to them.
Workplace trends such as quiet quitting, bare-minimum Monday, rage applying, and so on, have emerged to tell this story of shifting perspectives and priorities.
The latest phenomenon gaining momentum, particularly in the US, is referred to as quiet ambition.
Termed by Fortune, quiet ambition speaks of employees quietly but resolutely redefining their ambitions by prioritising personal, out-of-office fulfilment over the relentless pursuit of corporate titles and achievements.
The shift reflects a generation of professionals who are turning away from chasing achievement for its own sake and, instead, are focusing on what truly matters to them.
The striking aspect of this shift is the reprioritisation of life outside of work.
Visier, a workplace-planning software company, conducted a study in August 2023 which found many individual contributors in the workplace are avoiding, and in some instances, turning down management positions in favour of their free time.
"Instead of orienting their lives around their careers, employees want to clock off at 17:00 and retreat from the corporate grind," Visier reported.
"They see the work their bosses are doing and are realising that they don't want their role or responsibilities."In the company's survey of 1 000 US-based full-time employees who do not manage people but are individual contributors in their organisations, Visier came out with the following insights:
- Only 38% of individual contributors are interested in becoming a people manager at their current organisation, while the remaining 62% would prefer to stay as individual contributors.
- 44% of men are interested in becoming people managers at their current organisations versus only 32% of women.
- Only 37% of respondents agree that they want their boss' job someday.
- Only 35% of respondents agree they want to enter the C-suite someday.
- When the individual contributors were asked why they wouldn't want a role managing people, 91% cited reasons such as stress and pressure or simply being happy with their current role.
- Employees' top three ambitions, where workplace-related ambitions did not even feature, included spending time with family and friends (67%), being physically and mentally healthy (64%) and travelling (58%).
- When asked how motivated they are to be successful at their current organisation, 63% of respondents said: "I care about doing well but I won't compromise my work-life balance."
One potential long-term impact
of the quiet ambition phenomenon is it might leave many organisations with a
succession problem.
"The survey revealed that the quiet ambition trend is indeed a real threat to an organisation's corporate pipeline - and employers need to prepare now for the leadership gap that's coming their way," Visier said.
What about South Africa?
Speaking to News24, the client success advisor at the Top Employers Institute, Karen Muller, said a trend similar to quiet ambition had been seen in the country over the last few years, particularly during and after the height of the Covid-19 pandemic, but with limitations.
She added:"But to be honest, I don't
think South African professionals are totally there yet.
"The younger generations could be, depending on which industry they are in, but our market and our needs are different to other countries, especially the United States."
Muller said because of our country's different workplace landscape, many people who might want to take on a quiet ambition stance might not even be able to because of their circumstances.
So, while there was a shift, it was "not as huge as one would see in other regions", she added.
While quiet ambition might not necessarily be prevalent in our country, Muller agreed there was a strong awareness of where priorities were placed, and many more professionals are asking themselves: "Do I work to live, or do I live to work?"
With that said, as employees increasingly prioritise happiness, family and overall personal wellbeing over career titles and achievements, employers must start thinking now about how they will adapt to this shift.
