Purpose vs. Ambition: Are We Rethinking Our Careers?

Historically, the success of our careers has been defined by climbing up the corporate ladder, getting the ‘corner office’, and having a healthy bank balance. But now, workers are redefining that success, searching for purpose, and reframing the word ambition.

Lucy Kellway spent 30 years making her mark as a journalist. Then, in her 50s, after the death of her father, she decided to step away from the corporate world and become a maths teacher.

Writing in The Guardian, she explains: “Jacking in journalism to become a teacher so late in life wasn’t brave – it was desperate. Though I didn’t admit it at the time, I was entirely burnt out.”

As a maths teacher, Kellway enjoys her work more than her younger colleagues do. Ultimately, she believes it’s because she isn’t bogged down with the weight of ambition; she has already proved herself in a previous career.

As a result, she dodges extra responsibility, she doesn’t stress about impressing her managers, and she isn’t trying to climb the ladder. In what seems utterly freeing, it’s simply her mission to “do the job well for its own sake, and for the sake of [her] students.”

Kellway’s story went viral. And it spurred on a debate about the double-edged sword of ambition, which Kellway later went on to write about in The Financial Times, branding it necessary but corrosive.

Are we becoming less ambitious?

Since the pandemic, a handful of stories have emerged about people pursuing purpose over ambition. For some, the new end goal has become feeling content with work, prioritising wellbeing and finding balance.

When asked, ‘Is it important to be ambitious in your career?’, over a quarter of 8,115 poll respondents said that in the past 18 months, their views had changed, citing: “It was for me, but not now.”

Take Faruk Mengüç, for example, who gave up his career in media to become a goat farmer: “I just didn’t feel like I was doing work that really fulfilled my goals in life.”

Learning to say no

These career shifts are happening in varying degrees – not all are as extreme as media to farming – but they are happening in multiple industries, including sports. We’ve recently watched a handful of world class high achievers turn their backs on the traditional version of success.

Naomi Osaka quit the French Open to focus on her wellbeing and openly discussed her battle with depression and anxiety, while Simone Biles pulled out of five finals at the Tokyo Olympics after deciding to focus on her mental health and battling with ‘the twisties’, a phenomenon affecting spatial awareness.

Throughout our lives, we’re often encouraged to stick at things, show commitment and endure hardships. Throwing the towel in is a taboo act, and it’s sometimes associated with giving up easily or not trying hard enough. But although quitting involves saying no to something, it usually involves saying yes to something else – in Biles’ and Osaka’s case – that was saying yes to wellbeing.

Likewise, in a viral LinkedIn post, Jasmine Escalera explained that she quit her job because she wanted to set up her own business and pursue her true passion – it brought her closer to her “life purpose.” Escalera said yes to her entrepreneurial spirit.

Redefining ambition, rather than losing it

Branding these moves as a symptom of depleting ambition misunderstands the motivations behind them. It seems our priorities have shifted. If anything, we’re becoming more ambitious about achieving what’s right for us, and we’re reframing our idea of success.

As journalist Josie Cox writes: “Our collective understanding of ambition – as a concept in the context of work – is evolving into something less standardised, more subtle, increasingly personal and often quite complex for employers wedded to tradition to understand.”

What this means for managers

As our priorities shift, it’s crucial that business leaders take these changing attitudes into consideration. Working environments that support both re-defined career ambitions and employee wellbeing will be key to retaining and attracting top talent.

Tom Walsh, a Senior Surveyor in our Flexible Office Solutions team explains: “As wellbeing becomes an increasingly significant expectation of our working lives, keeping an open dialogue is key. That way, leaders can know how their teams are feeling at all times and understand what support they might need.

“On top of that, the office experience itself can help employees take those necessary breaks so that work isn’t just about work. From meditation tents to fitness studios, many of London’s offices are well-prepared to help teams thrive.”