For modern workers, the traditional linear career path—climbing the ranks at a single company over decades—has increasingly fallen out of favor, giving rise to a new strategy known as “lily padding,” a deliberate approach of hopping between roles to build targeted skills and advance long-term career goals.
At 32, Brittany Harris-Nelson embodies this new way of building a career. Over the past 10 years, she has held 10 distinct positions across six higher education institutions, ranging from entry-level student-facing roles while she was still studying to full-time administrative positions. Today, she holds her long-desired mid-level role as assistant director of student engagement at Wake Forest University in North Carolina, framing her meandering journey as intentional rather than aimless.
“My career has been like a frog moving across lily pads,” Harris-Nelson explained. “Each step brought me closer to where I ultimately wanted to be, even if the path wasn’t always linear.” While her incremental job shifts did not deliver dramatic immediate salary increases, she notes that each new role brought improved benefits, including expanded paid time off and higher employer pension contributions, while equipping her with niche skills that prepared her for her current position.
Harris-Nelson is far from alone in this approach. Industry analysts have identified lily padding as a defining career trend among Generation Z workers, born between 1997 and 2012. Unlike the traditional model of staying in one role to climb a corporate ladder, lily padding involves strategically jumping between jobs to supercharge employability, build a diverse skill set, and unlock access to more senior roles and long-term financial gain.
Global workforce data supports the rise of this trend. A 2024 survey of 11,250 workers conducted by international recruitment agency Randstad found that the average job tenure for Gen Z workers in their first five years of professional work is just 1.1 years. That is significantly shorter than the 1.8-year average tenure for millennials (born between 1981 and 1996) and close to three years for older generations of workers.
The financial benefits of frequent strategic job switching are already evident in market data. A 2025 study from UK-based financial services firm Wealthify found that workers who changed jobs four or more times over a 10-year period earned an average annual salary of £39,276, compared to £30,088 for peers who stayed in fewer roles—representing a 31% pay premium for frequent movers.
For Adam Smiley Poswolsky, a San Francisco-based author and workplace culture speaker, lily padding was a deliberate choice to pursue meaningful work over conventional upward mobility. Over 15 years, Poswolsky held roles across four distinct sectors: government, nonprofits, creative industries, and corporate work. His resume includes stints as a project leader for the Peace Corps, an English instructor at Harvard University, a location scout for entertainment giant Warner Bros., a film producer in New York City, a campaign staffer on Barack Obama’s 2008 presidential campaign, and a fellow at a Washington-based think tank.
Poswolsky rejected the traditional career ladder framework early on, noting it did not align with his priority of finding purpose in his work. “In each of my jumps, I was very clear on being ready for something new, but I also knew the skillset I was taking from one experience to the next,” he said. Today, the cross-sector skills he built through his non-linear journey support his current career as a well-compensated public speaker and author. “I found flexibility and happiness through this career evolution rather than via a vertical corporate structure,” he added.
Industry leaders say this shift reflects a broader reorientation of worker priorities. Nicola Grant, chief people officer at UK insurance provider Hiscox, has observed this change firsthand across her organization. She notes that early-career professionals increasingly prioritize building a breadth of experience quickly over following a single predetermined path, actively building a portfolio of adaptable skills rather than specializing too early.
“Younger employees are far more willing to move on if they feel their development has stalled or their advancement options are limited,” Grant explained. “Expectations have changed; people want variety, pace and to build skills that will remain relevant. It’s about a desire for growth that ultimately benefits both the individual and the organization.”
Lucy Kemp, an employee experience specialist and strategic communications leader at IT firm La Fosse, argues that lily padding is not just a passing trend—it is the future of work. She points to shifting economic and workplace dynamics that have pushed younger workers away from long-term company loyalty: many have watched older generations put in decades of work without receiving the promised financial or professional rewards, leading to a widespread belief that “loyalty doesn’t pay off.”
Post-pandemic workplace shifts have also accelerated the trend, Kemp explains. With more people working remotely, spontaneous on-the-job learning from senior peers has declined significantly, while automation and artificial intelligence have taken over many routine entry-level tasks. As a result, workers who want to build future-proof skills are actively seeking new roles and projects across teams, sectors, and companies to gain the experience they need.
“People are looking at skills that will be relevant in five years’ time,” Kemp said. “They just want to learn something new and have a purpose.”
For Harris-Nelson, that purpose-driven approach to career building defines her outlook long-term. “I see my career as an ongoing journey rather than a destination,” she said. “I’m always learning and growing.”