For most of the 20th century, professional development was organized and facilitated by career “ladders.” This stepwise progression clarified the path to promotion for specific roles and job families. Unfortunately, the emphasis on vertical ascent also led to high attrition, low engagement and gross underutilization of talent.
Next up was the arrival of “lattices” in 2011-2012. Described as a new career strategy that encouraged lateral or diagonal movement, this refreshing approach suggested value in “slowing down to go faster.” Employees were encouraged in this era to pursue developmental assignments and interim moves that created outside perspective and cross-functional skill sets. The net result was still a route to the top, but one that was more circuitous than linear.
Then the pandemic hit, another generation —Gen Z joined the workforce — and everyone was sent home to work. Many of the youngest Zoomers sourced, interviewed and on-boarded into their first jobs without ever meeting their boss or colleagues in-person. Although workforces are largely still hybrid and personal contact is increasing, the model for development and promotion is still a challenge for organizations and fraught with existential angst.
Our dilemma
Let’s look at four themes in existential philosophy that seem particularly relevant to work in the 2020s and beyond.
The first theme is meaning. There is no meaning in the world beyond the meaning that we create for ourselves or ascribe to the groups, relationships and institutions that are relevant to our lives. That is the existentialist point of view. Seems kind of extreme, but it’s hard not to hear kindred voices inside today’s organizations questioning the value (and meaning) of corporate, team and personal success as measured by traditional criteria — i.e., stock price, ROI, compensation or promotion. Is a successful company only one which provides the greatest shareholder value? What about mission or environmental responsibility? Is a successful team one which simply accomplishes a goal or also one that develops its members? Is personal success too narrowly defined by status and the accumulation of wealth?
The next theme is the irrationality of life and organizations. Existentialists recognized and embraced “the absurd.” World wars and unspeakable tragedies made it difficult to see any linearity or moral imperative in the progress of man. The arbitrariness of life, death and all of human behavior in the 20th century made planning and rationality the butt of existentialist humor. Now fast forward a couple of generations, and imagine investing 16-plus years of education and multiple years of work experience only to be “disrupted” by new technologies, war and global disease. That’s today’s absurd reality.
The third is authenticity and essence. Existentialists tell us that essence precedes existence. We are defined by our actions (i.e., essence) not by abstract categorizations or just by arriving on the scene. Yet we still label people by their professions or industry verticals — even when those labels are fragmented or lack meaning. As an example, what is a computer programmer? Do you mean a hardware or software programmer, or a front-end or back-end programmer? Or perhaps a web or database developer? Or a network system administrator or full-stack developer? What we do is who we are. And yet who we are changes as quickly as shifts in business, politics and technology. Being “authentic” is a mantra for the new generation, but legacy job roles and labels seem insufficient to keep up with changing demographics and career needs. Moreover, many of our best and brightest are two or three things — a programmer and an entrepreneur, a marketer and a dancer, a salesperson, non-profit volunteer and a mom or dad.
The fourth theme is dread and anxiety. Mid-century existentialist plays (e.g., Becket’s “Waiting for Godot”) and literature (e.g., Sartre’s “Nausea”) make a clear case for the impact of anxiety and dread on our ability to function. In 2022, the National Alliance on Mental Health estimates that between 20 and 30 percent of the U.S. population suffers from anxiety disorders, but fewer than half are getting treatment. What impact does this dread have on the workplace and our ability to perform, let alone plan for long careers? We have employee assistance programs for affected populations, but if anxiety is a defining condition for our society, are we doing enough?
Crises strategies
How do we fold these existential themes — readily observable as they are — into an overarching career strategy that appreciates the impact of ladders, lattices, and other innovative career strategies?
For meaning: We need managers as career coaches. We already train them to lead programs associated with career progression, but isn’t there an opportunity to train them as true career coaches? Why? Because “meaning” varies by individual. What gives meaning to one employee in a role is not the same as what gives meaning to another, even in the same role. Some are driven by variety; others are motivated by serving a purpose. Still, others are driven by the desire to increase their expertise — broadly or narrowly — or perhaps acquire money and status. The progressive career coach helps employees discover what gives them meaning — for a role, career or lifestyle — and then helps them create a plan to get there.
For the absurd and irrational: We need to develop employees’ personal flexibility and resilience. Flexing to “work at home” has been a stretch for many, but it will not likely be the last disruption or transition we face. Sure, there could be another pandemic but there could also be revolutionary change in how work is organized and deployed based on artificial intelligence, globalization or other yet unseen forces. If chatbots replace or redefine the workforce, are we ready for that? The popularization of “resilience” in our work vocabulary is encouraging. but too often it is used as a synonym for persistence, not a call for recasting, rethinking and, dare I say it, “mindfulness.”
For authenticity and essence: We need to increase the flexibility with which a role is performed, or how a career path is articulated. Role profiles, competency models and job postings have been developed over the years to provide greater transparency around requirements. Instead of guessing about the nature of the work or underlying skill needs, employees have been given a comprehensive picture of their own roles and next job. However, the new challenge is to accommodate different ways of executing and different degrees of specialization. This not only supports authenticity, but also derives benefits from leveraging diversity in employee backgrounds, skills and experiences.
For dread and anxiety: We must continue to focus on and provide support for employee mental health and wellness. Certainly, EAPs and HR driven programs are important, but like career planning, they require managers who can identify potential issues and marshal support before a situation is in crisis. That’s a tricky one from a confidentiality and expertise perspective but early detection and intervention is critical. I also wonder whether it is time for organizations to acknowledge that there is joy in work beyond promotion and career movement. It’s not uncommon to hear someone say, “I am happy with what I am doing, as long as I am still learning or able to manage my work-life balance.” If that perspective adds satisfaction and mitigates dread and anxiety, then bring it on!
A final word
Every generation advises the next wave of employees based on its own experience. Having lived through the depression, my parents counseled me to “join a successful big company and work hard.” And, of course, I ditched that company for a consulting start up that promised greater risk but far more interesting work and the opportunity for partnership.
So now, as I advocate for managers as career coaches and a more compassionate, flexible work environment, I recognize that I may be wrong: Maybe the worst will happen. Bots will do our work, the wealth inequality gap will widen and the alienation that Marx and Weber described will finally settle in for most jobs.
But, maybe it won’t. Perhaps the next generation will figure out a way of organizing work and careers that is not geometric, but still provides direction for actualizing professional ambition.
