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Productivity career paths

Finding the proper career path may not be a linear journey. (Photo by Joyce Man/South China Morning Post via Getty Images)

By Hannah Bryan Leaders Staff

Hannah Bryan

News Writer

Hannah Bryan is a news writer for Leaders Media. Most recently she was a reporter for the Sanilac County News...

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Mar 4, 2023

Taking a New Look At Career Paths

Linear career paths were once the norm in the American workforce, but as the workplace changes, the path to success is shifting to what is called non-linear career paths.

Key Details

  • Non-linear paths are intentional. A non-linear career path differs from job hopping in that it is purposeful rather than an employee becoming bored with one career and moving to another. 
  • For example, a social-media manager may find enjoyment in analyzing data and eventually find himself as a business analyst. A blue-collar worker may realize that an innovative idea could revolutionize his industry and become an entrepreneur, promoting a new idea or project. 
  • The job market is shifting as more workplaces opt for hybrid or fully remote options, and non-linear paths are part of that shift. 
  • Other changes in employee priorities are driving workers to a less traditional path. The average person’s work career is closer to 60 years rather than 40, leading people to move on to careers with more long-term satisfaction.
  • Increasingly employees are looking for careers that offer benefits beyond salary, such as flexibility and work-life balance. This search for a more satisfactory job has resulted in some shifting paths. 
  • Skills-based hiring has also become more common as employers are willing to look beyond a person’s educational background and at a prospective employee’s actual abilities. 

Why it’s news

The workplace is rapidly becoming different from just a few years ago. Many of these changes were already beginning to slowly transform the workplace, but the pandemic has accelerated these changes. 

In part, an employee’s ability to move to a different field is because employers are willing to look at a broader range of candidates. A more difficult labor market had caused hiring managers to think creatively and look at options they may not have considered before. This presents an opportunity for employees looking to make a change. 

Fewer employees feel loyalty to the company. While some workers may have stayed with a certain company for their entire career, a younger generation does not feel the same compulsion, Forbes reports. 

Burnout and stress remain at an all-time high, and layoffs and hiring freezes have continued to shake employee confidence in their company. While hiring managers were once suspicious of non-linear career paths, they are becoming the new normal and can even come with some benefits as employees bring their own experience to the workplace.

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