The corporate ladder is a relic. Employers know it. Workers know it. The systems that support it are crumbling. Based on surveys of over 27,000 workers and 1,225 employers across 35 markets, found that 72% of employers now describe the traditional linear career ladder as “outdated.” Only 41% of talent still want to follow a traditional career path. Meanwhile, 40% of workers have already taken a second role, and 38% want different types of jobs across their career .
Why This Happens
Workers watched their parents sacrifice decades to companies that laid them off without warning. They saw loyalty rewarded with restructuring. They learned that the ladder leads to a roof that might not exist when they arrive.
The old contract was simple. Work hard. Stay loyal. Climb steadily. Retire with a pension. That contract died decades ago. Pensions disappeared. Job security became a memory. Companies stopped investing in long term development because they could no longer promise long term employment.
Workers adapted. They stopped expecting stability from employers. They started building their own paths. They collected skills instead of titles. They moved between roles instead of climbing a single ladder.
Employers recognize this. They see that linear progression no longer fits how work actually happens. Skills change too fast. Industries transform too quickly. The promise of steady advancement up a single ladder no longer holds. Gen Z and millennials are already building portfolios, not ladders. They are collecting experiences, not titles. They understand that careers are not linear. They never were.
Why This Will Continue Without Intervention
The systems that support traditional careers are crumbling. Organizations still design promotion processes around outdated assumptions. They create career paths that assume linear growth. They reward tenure over contribution. They measure loyalty by years served rather than value created.
This mismatch creates frustration. Workers who want portfolio careers find themselves trapped in rigid structures. Workers who want to explore different roles find themselves pigeonholed into single tracks. Workers who want flexibility find themselves bound by policies designed for a different era.
The data confirms the shift. 40% of workers have already taken a second role. 38% want different types of jobs across their career. They are not waiting for permission. They are building careers on their own terms.
Organizations that fail to adapt will lose talent. Workers will go where their aspirations are understood. They will choose employers who recognize that careers are not ladders but portfolios. They will leave organizations that still measure success by title and tenure.
How Moody At Work Resolves This Issue
Moody At Work helps organizations adapt to the new career reality. Through continuous engagement tracking, companies identify what employees actually want from their careers. Anonymous feedback channels reveal aspirations that traditional surveys miss.
Recognition programs reward growth in all its forms, not just promotion up a single track. Real time data enables leaders to build career frameworks that match modern workforce expectations.
The 72% of employers who recognize the problem need tools to solve it. Moody At Work provides those tools. The 41% of workers who still want traditional paths need support to pursue them. The 59% who want something different need frameworks that accommodate their ambitions.
Moody At Work helps organizations build those frameworks. Careers are not ladders. They are journeys. Moody At Work helps you guide them.
Source: Randstad Workmonitor 2026