Everyone’s talking about balance. But maybe what we really need is a reason to show up.
We’ve elevated “work-life balance” into a modern mantra. But for most of human history, the idea would’ve seemed absurd. No Cro-Magnon hunter skipped the pursuit of a mammoth to focus on self-care. No medieval blacksmith paused forging horseshoes to “reclaim his mornings.”
We didn’t balance our work with our lives—our work was how we expressed our lives.
And now, in 2025, we’re seeing a reawakening.
Not to balance.
To vocation.
The Real Shift Isn’t About Time. It’s About Meaning.
We’re mislabeling what employees are asking for. It’s not just flexibility. It’s purpose.
- 83% of employees now prioritize work-life balance over salary, according to Randstad’s 2025 global survey (The Guardian, 2025)
- But more importantly, 90% of Gen Z and Millennials say purpose at work is critical to their satisfaction (Deloitte Global Millennial & Gen Z Survey, 2025)
- And nearly 70% of U.S. professionals say they would change jobs for more meaningful work, even if the pay remained the same (McKinsey & Co., 2023)
What’s the throughline here? People aren’t trying to work less. They’re trying to work on something that matters.
The Rise—and Decline—of Vocation
In the past, your job wasn’t what you did—it was who you were. Your surname said it all: John the Miller. Sarah the Tanner. Emma the Weaver.
Work was identity. Craft. Contribution.
But somewhere between the assembly line and the open office plan, we lost that thread. Work became something to endure. To survive. A box to check between “real life” and the weekend.
As anthropologist David Graeber famously wrote in his essay on “Bullshit Jobs,” many workers today believe their jobs are meaningless—and worse, that everyone else knows it too.
But what if the crisis isn’t about hours, balance, or benefits?
What if it’s about meaning? Agency? Mastery?
What Employees Are Really Asking For in 2025
Let’s stop pretending today’s workforce is lazy or entitled. They’re not asking for less responsibility. They’re asking for more relevance.
Here’s what’s rising to the top of employee values in 2025:
- Autonomy: 71% say being trusted to decide how they work is more important than where they work (TalentLMS, 2025)
- Impact: 61% want to know how their work directly contributes to the organization’s goals (Gallup, 2025)
- Growth: 79% say they’d stay longer at a company that invests in their skills and career path (LinkedIn Learning Report, 2024)
- Belonging: Employees who feel a sense of shared mission are 3x more likely to stay long-term (McKinsey, 2023)
These aren’t fringe perks. They’re foundational to what work should be.
Reframing the Question
The question isn’t “How do we give employees more time off?”
The better question is:
What kind of work makes people want to come in?
Because the answer isn’t more yoga classes or Friday lunches. It’s helping people reconnect to their vocation—the call to contribute, to build, to grow, and to lead.
Fast Attack Leadership: Making Work Matter Again
Marc Koehler’s Fast Attack Leadership isn’t just about getting more done. It’s about helping leaders create clarity, urgency, and alignment so that every individual understands:
- Why their work matters
- Where they’re headed
- And how to act with purpose—under pressure
In high-performance, high-stakes environments, purpose isn’t a nice-to-have. It’s fuel.
Fast Attack Leadership helps teams build:
- Autonomy with alignment
- Execution with impact
- Clarity with speed
- Vocation with velocity
It doesn’t just solve for balance. It creates meaning.
Book Marc Koehler for Your 2025 Leadership Summit
If your leadership team is ready to stop managing people and start mobilizing them—if you want to reawaken purpose, agency, and identity in your workplace—Marc Koehler’s keynote is the ignition point.
His Fast Attack Leadership framework delivers real transformation: for people, for teams, and for the mission that unites them.
Learn more or book Marc at marckoehlerspeaks.com
Because in 2025, it’s not about less work.
It’s about more meaning.