Executives around the world say the events that have had the most profound effect on their careers originated largely at work, not from family considerations or changed personal aspirations, according to the latest McKinsey Quarterly survey. This holds true for both men and women and for executives with and without children.
The survey asked respondents about any decisions or events that led to a significant long-term change in their work situation.1 Among other findings, both men and women say the single most pivotal event in their careers occurred when they were around the age of 30, after they had spent about eight years in the workforce. Nearly 40 percent say that an outcome of this event was taking a new job in a new industry, and 40 percent say they have had difficulty striking a balance between work and personal life.
Executives indicate that they have experienced about five such pivotal moments. According to the vast majority, whatever the specific outcome of the most important event, it had a positive effect on their careers—some 40 percent of the respondents are now C-level executives—and on factors such as the intellectual interest of the job, compensation, and rank in the organization.
When asked how the career-changing moment influenced work–life balance, however, slightly more executives say it had a neutral effect than those who report a positive one. More broadly, executives seem to be basing fewer career decisions on work–life balance than might be expected given the attention this relationship receives and the number of people who have had difficulty with it. The respondents chose it far less frequently as a factor in defining pivotal moments, for example, than they did many personal and workplace events, such as being offered a new job or developing a passion for a new industry.
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