Life Goals
Exploring The Great Realization In Depth
Life Goals
Exploring The Great Realization In Depth
The past few years broadly reset many people's life clocks, and, as a result, better work-life balance, the ability to pursue passions, and even health and wellness are taking center stage as top priorities.
The past few years broadly reset many people's life clocks, and, as a result, better work-life balance, the ability to pursue passions, and even health and wellness are taking center stage as top priorities.
Post-pandemic, people are rethinking how work fits into their broader life goals.
We referred to these changes as The Great Realization in our 2021 MBO Partners State of Independence report, a broad re-awakening of how one places work and other priorities in concert.
MBO collaborated with Connie Steele, future of work and life expert, and her firm, Flywheel Associates, on this effort and included a subset of life and career goal questions from their annual State of Work and Career Success study
This partnership with Steele and Flywheel brings several new elements to our study of the independent workforce. They are field experts with a proven approach and methodology for studying life goals, and a broad pool of U.S. workers in their sample set. For the purposes of this research data, we compare our independent worker survey study results with their overall workforce population to generate comparisons.
To better understand these shifts, the 2022 State of Independence study was expanded to examine how successful independent workers are at achieving their life goals.
Independent Workers Outperform Other Workers in Achieving Life Goals
Steele's research shows that American workers' top three stated life goals are: spending enough time with their family, leading a fulfilling life, and getting the most out of life.
In all these categories, a higher share of U.S. independent workers report achieving these life goals than in the U.S. workforce overall. Almost two-thirds (63%) report achieving success in terms of spending time with their families, compared to 55% of U.S. workers overall. This is likely due to the work-life flexibility provided by independent work, which is a key reason people report choosing to be independent workers.
Share of Workers Saying They Are
Successful at Each Life Goal
Spending enough time with your family
Leading a fulfilling life
Getting the most out of life
Independent Workers Outperform Other Workers in Achieving Life Goals
Steele's research shows that American workers' top three stated life goals are: spending enough time with their family, leading a fulfilling life, and getting the most out of life.
In all these categories, a higher share of U.S. independent workers report achieving these life goals than in the U.S. workforce overall. Almost two-thirds (63%) report achieving success in terms of spending time with their families, compared to 55% of U.S. workers overall. This is likely due to the work-life flexibility provided by independent work, which is a key reason people report choosing to be independent workers.
Share of Workers Saying They Are
Successful at Each Life Goal
Six in ten independents report success at leading a fulfilling life, versus 54% of workers, and almost six in 10 independents say they're successful at getting the most out of life, compared to 52% of workers.
Six in ten independents report success at leading a fulfilling life, versus 54% of workers, and almost six in 10 independents say they're successful at getting the most out of life, compared to 52% of workers.
Independent workers also scored better on three out of the five other success goals we measured. Independent workers scored ten points higher (64% versus 54%) than the U.S. workforce overall on continued personal growth, six points higher on helping others (65% versus 59%), and five points higher (57% versus 52%) on getting the most out of life.
Independents suffered slightly compared to overall workers when it came to financial goal performance.
Almost half of workers reported being successfully on track for retirement, compared to 41% of independent workers. The two groups tied on creating wealth, with 42% of both groups reporting being successful in this goal.
Independent Work Aligns Well with Overall Career Goals
The vast majority of independent workers report choose to work this way because it allows them to find meaning in their work and life. Three of the top reasons for choosing independence are to: pursue a passion, do meaningful work; and do work that they like. In essence, they have selected a personalized work style that strongly aligns with the career aspirations of the US workforce overall.
According to Steele's research, the U.S. workforce overall ranks its top three career goals as: earning a steady income, doing meaningful work, and working in a field they are passionate about.
There is only one career goal-earning a steady income-where independent work can be overshadowed by the predictability of traditional wages.
High earnings for independents are often reached, but one of the biggest challenges of being an independent worker is to develop a steady pipeline of income that is predictable over time. Overall, traditional job holders report higher satisfaction with their income than independent workers.
In 2022, 76% of traditional workers reported being satisfied with their income, compared to 68% of independent workers. Much of this reflects the predictability of steady paychecks rather than the earnings potential overall.
Independent Digital Nomads Score the Highest at Achieving Life Goals
Digital nomads are workers who embrace a location-independent, technology-enabled lifestyle that allows them to travel and work anywhere in the internet-connected world.
Independent digital nomads score significantly higher than independent workers and workers overall in all eight life goal categories, as noted in the chart below.
In addition to scoring high on life goals, independent digital nomads have among the highest work satisfaction rates of all workers. Ninety-two percent of independent digital nomads report being highly satisfied (81%) or satisfied (11%) with their work and lifestyle.
Digital nomads score exceptionally high on getting the most out of life (79% report achieving this life goal), continued personal growth (74%), and ensuring their life has a purpose (71%). No doubt, visiting new places, being exposed to new cultures, and meeting new people all play a part in these high scores.
This data is not all that surprising-in our own research on digital nomads, MBO has found these workers to be a broadly satisfied population in strong control of their careers, lives, and happiness.
Share of Workers Saying They Are Successful at Each Life Goal
| Life Goal |
Independent Digital Nomads |
Full-time Independent Workers |
State of Career and Work Success Survey |
|---|---|---|---|
| Helping others | 68% | 65% | 59% |
| Spending enough time with family | 63% | 63% | 55% |
| Ensuring your life has purpose | 71% | 63% | 55% |
| Leading a fulfilling life | 70% | 61% | 54% |
| Getting the most out of life | 79% | 57% | 52% |
| Continued personal growth | 74% | 64% | 54% |
| Being on track for retirement | 49% | 41% | 46% |
| Creating wealth | 53% | 42% | 42% |
| Life Goal |
Independent Digital Nomads |
|---|---|
| Helping others | 68% |
| Spending enough time with family | 63% |
| Ensuring your life has purpose | 71% |
| Leading a fulfilling life | 70% |
| Getting the most out of life | 79% |
| Continued personal growth | 74% |
| Being on track for retirement | 49% |
| Creating wealth | 53% |
For more information on this population, view the 2022 MBO research brief The Aspirations and Reality for Digital Nomads.
For more information on this population, view the 2022 MBO research brief The Aspirations and Reality for Digital Nomads
Not All Independent Workers Achieve Their Life Goals
While most independent workers report success at achieving their life goals, a substantial minority-about one-third-are not. Most of these are what we call "reluctant independents." These are independent workers who would prefer to have a traditional job. In most cases, reluctant independents do not have the work/life flexibility, autonomy, and control that many independent workers have.
Because of this, they get the worst of both types of employment-unpredictable income, a lack of benefits, and a lack of work flexibility, autonomy, and control. Most reluctant also report not being satisfied with their income. In the annual MBO State of Independence reports, we discuss reluctant independents in more depth.
Independents Have the Edge When it Comes to Reaching Career & Life Goals
The nature of independent work-working at something that is meaningful, having autonomy and flexibility, and continually learning so as to stay relevant in the work you do-aligns well with overall life goals of the U.S workforce. This puts independent workers who enjoy their workstyle at a natural advantage in terms of achieving life goals.
Learn how Life Goals are changing the views independents have of their careers.
Methodology
Unless otherwise noted, the findings in this research brief come from the 2022 MBO Partners State of Independence in America study survey, which was fielded in July 2022. This is the 12th consecutive year this study has been conducted. For the 2022 study, Emergent Research and Rockbridge surveyed 6,488 residents of the U.S. (aged 18 and older), including 934 independent workers. The survey results were used to size the independent workforce and profile work motivations and attitudes among independent and traditional workers. The survey results were weighted to reflect the demographics of the U.S. Also included in this brief is data from Connie Steele and Flywheel's State of Work & Career Success study. This study's methodology is available from Flywheel.
