The U.S. Workplace culture is evolving, with staff increasingly frustrated by mandatory five-day return-to-office policies and after-hours calls from management. Tired of the relentless pace of corporate America, they are now prioritizing their work-life balance above all else, even substantial salaries.
TL;DR
- Work-life balance is now the top priority for U.S. employees, surpassing salary for the first time in 22 years.
- Gen Z prioritizes mental well-being and flexibility, even accepting salary cuts for remote work options.
- While many employees seek sustainable work arrangements, some CEOs dismiss work-life balance as unrealistic.
- Entrepreneurs like Marc Randolph and Jamie Dimon advocate for strong work-life boundaries for well-being.
A 2025 Workmonitor report from Randstad indicates that work-life balance has become the top priority for individuals regarding their present or prospective employment. Approximately 83% of respondents identify it as their primary concern, closely followed by job security. Pay is ranked third in importance, cited by 82% as a motivator. This marks the first instance in the 22-year history of the Workmonitor study where work-life balance has outranked compensation as a driving factor.
“Talent’s search for workplaces that shape around them, rather than vice versa, continues to be a strong motivator,” the report notes. “Their expectations have become more multifaceted, with traditionally sought-after workplace aspects giving way to a broader distribution of priorities.”
Gen Z prioritizes work-life balance above salary.
In line with their commitment to improving the workplace, young people are is spearheading a shift in employer responsibilities.
According to the Randstad report, the disconnect between desiring flexibility and fair compensation is most pronounced among Gen Z. Approximately 74% prioritize work-life balance, whereas only 68% place salary at the forefront. This younger demographic even ranked mental well-being (70%) higher than attractive paychecks, reflecting their commitment to job satisfaction on a daily basis.
They even value remote and hybrid schedules are more than worth it; approximately 40% of Gen Z and millennial workers would accept a salary reduction for increased autonomy regarding their work location, as indicated by a 2025 LinkedIn report. This reflects a broader trend among younger professionals, dubbed “career minimalism,” where Gen Z employees conserve their energy for their genuine aspirations beyond their professional duties.
Nonetheless, seasoned employees also fully support sustainable work arrangements. According to the Randstad report, work-life balance and compensation become more crucial as individuals age. Specifically, 85% of baby boomers consider work-life balance a top job priority, and 87% view pay as a significant factor. While a substantial number of these workers continue to value work-life balance highly, they haven't fully accepted the idea that money is the ultimate priority.
Employees desire flexibility, yet top executives dismiss it as unrealistic.
Employees at all levels of a company concur that work-life balance is a crucial factor when choosing employment. However, chief executives are split on the feasibility of pursuing career goals while also disconnecting from work at a reasonable time.
Marc Randolph, the cofounder of $472 billion entertainment giant Netflix, is one of the few highly successful entrepreneurs who are adamant on setting work-life boundaries. He lived by a straightforward rule throughout his three-decade-long career: every Tuesday, he walked out of the office at 5 p.m. And wouldn’t do work for the rest of the night. He’d go to a movie, have dinner, or go window-shopping with his close friend—and “nothing got in the way of that.”
“I’ve worked hard, for my entire career, to keep my life balanced with my job,” Randolph wrote in an old LinkedIn post that has recently been recirculating on social media. “Those Tuesday nights kept me sane. And they put the rest of my work in perspective.”
In what might seem unconventional for Wall Street titans, JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has also advised young workers to break away from work. It’s what’s best for their relationships and well-being.
“You need to have work-life balance,” Dimon said to students at the Georgetown University Psaros Center for Financial Markets and Policy last year. “What we tell our people at JPMorgan is you have to take care of your mind, your body, your spirit, your soul, your friends, your friends, your health. You really have to.”
However, there’s a large camp of CEOs and entrepreneurs who wholeheartedly disagree with the notion of work-life balance. Google cofounder Sergey Brin and Scale AI’s Lucy Guo have lambasted the idea of clocking in at 9 a.m. And out at 5 p.m. Andrew Feldman, cofounder and CEO of $8.1 billion AI chip company Cerebras, agreed it’s astonishing that people want to have it both ways.
“This notion that somehow you can achieve greatness, you can build something extraordinary by working 38 hours a week and having work-life balance, that is mind-boggling to me,” Feldman stressed on the 20VC podcast last month. “It’s not true in any part of life.”