As the American workforce continues to change post-COVID, buzzwords such as the "Great Resignation" and "quiet quitting" have dominated the conversation surrounding workplace habits. But just because people are reevaluating their relationship with work does not mean they are forfeiting all ambition, health journalist Jamie Ducharme wrote in an Oct. 5 Time article.
Half of Americans are questioning work's role in their lives, according to a Gartner report cited by Ms. Ducharme. The same amount report exhaustion at the workday's close, according to the Society for Human Resource Management.
The pandemic forced many people to reevaluate how they spend their time, Natasha Crosby, a Texas social worker, told Time. Many high achievers realized they had been missing out on time with loved ones and time alone. Now they are trading an all-in, always-on corporate mindset for more personal peace.
Just because people are reorienting their lives outside the workplace does not necessarily mean they are losing ambition, according to the article. People are spending more time on hobbies and creative projects, and in surveys that ask them to self-report ambition, many still identify as "very ambitious," Ms. Ducharme wrote. This ambition might now manifest in personal goals rather than just career goals.
It also is important not to place full blame on workers for their migration from career orientation, Stefanie O'Connell Rodriguez, a journalist who covers ambition, said in the article. Many workers are recognizing low pay and a lack of benefits as problematic, leading them to walk away from unfair conditions.
"When you misdiagnose the problem, you cannot come up with an effective solution," O'Connell Rodriguez said in the article. "It takes the responsibility away from the employer, from the culture, and the government to address everything that is contributing to this burnout, resignation and loss of ambition."