Is it the end of traditional career paths in Europe?

They call it “the great workforce adaptation”: it may be one of the strongest job trends of 2026 and is already reshaping the way many people go about their careers.

According to Randstad’s 2026 Workmonitor, launched today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, more than one in three workers believe that traditional career paths are no longer fit for dealing with the job market’s upheavals.

Interestingly, 72% of employers themselves say that they agree with this vision.

The result is that 25% of talent is now aiming for a portfolio career, meaning they switch jobs and sectors as their career progresses.

In Europe, this mindset is particularly popular among workers based in Luxembourg (57%), Poland (47%), and Norway (45%), while Czech (25%) and German (27%) workers emerged as the least willing to be flexible.

Flexibility comes with a price. How much does stability matter?

Building a diversified portfolio gives workers more options and resilience, but juggling multiple roles also comes with challenges, clearly making it a double-edged sword.

That perhaps helps explain why work-life balance has become the number one job retention factor globally — 46% — well ahead of traditionally important things like competitive pay and benefits (23%).

The younger generations are the sternest advocates. Nearly half of GenZs (45%) and Millennials (43%), globally, say they would quit a job that didn’t fit their personal lives, compared to 37% among Gen Xs and 30% of Boomers.

Work-life balance beats salary as top worker-retention factor?

Job security remains crucial, and in some cases, like in Austria and Germany, it narrowly tops work-life balance as the first reason to stay in a job.

What stands out, however, is how pay emerges as the least important factor in keeping employees from seeking opportunities elsewhere. Aside from Hungary, no other country among the 25 surveyed chose it as the top reason to stay.

Work-life balance also ranked first in Argentina (44%), Australia (50%), Brazil (45%), Canada (43%), Mexico (43%) and China (44%), while some European countries like the Netherlands (52%), Poland (51%) and Italy (52%) reported even higher rates.

Cross-sector skills and AI: The top tips for a portfolio career

“Talent are now redefining success by mitigating their risks — building portfolio careers and seeking security through variety rather than tenure”, says Randstad in the report.

The company’s CEO, Sander van ‘t Noordende, told Europe in Motion that young talent seeking those paths should “focus on skills that travel across roles and sectors”, including “skilled trades and hands-on work, not just traditional white-collar roles”.

“It’s also vital to adopt an attitude of always-on learning, especially how to work with AI, and don’t underestimate the value of human judgment, creativity and collaboration,” he said.

Managers and employees: A new alliance on the rise?

As strange as it sounds, job insecurity is somehow bringing managers and employees closer.

On the one hand, business owners are asking their managers to check in more often with their teams (66%), amid resignation and burnout fears.

At the same time, workers now tend to touch base with their managers more frequently (60%) because of concerns about the current volatile macroeconomic environment.

Ranstad calls managers the “stability anchors” of today’s job market.

“Against a backdrop of disruption and economic challenges, trust between employers and talent is under greater pressure,” it says. “However, with high levels of trust between managers and workers, employers have an opportunity to better understand the dynamics driving their talent’s motivations and ambitions.”

“They need to capitalise on these anchors of stability to rebuild trust and boost loyalty,” it adds.