The Security Paradox: Why 2025’s Workers Are Both Loyal and Flight Risks

Over the last 10 years, employee priorities have changed drastically. They’re often shaped by global events, technological advances, and changing perspectives on work itself.

Where once people sought out soft benefits, quirky office perks and opportunities for advancement up the corporate ladder, in 2025, they’re after something different. 

The Fundamental Human Needs in the Workplace

Recent research from Fractional Insights reveals that despite all the changes in the workplace over the past decade, employees in 2025 continue to be motivated by three core psychological needs:

1. Security (95% of employees): Financial stability, job security, and a predictable work environment have emerged as the dominant driver, with 63% of employees rating it as "extremely important."
2. Significance (92% of employees): The desire for connection to a larger purpose and recognition for contributions remains strong, with 52% finding this extremely important.
3. Growth (90% of employees): Opportunities for skill development and career advancement continue to be valued, with 41% rating this as extremely important.

"What we're seeing isn't a fundamental change in what humans need from work,” explains Dr. Shonna Waters, CEO and co-founder of Fractional Insights.

“While people have always sought security, significance, and growth, what's shifting dramatically is how explicitly employees now expect organizations to address these needs and their willingness to vote with their feet when these needs aren't met. Our research reveals a phenomenon we call 'retention-tension,' where traditional turnover metrics are underestimating talent flight risk by nearly 60%." 

The Great Reassessment: 2020-2022

The early 2020s sparked what many called "The Great Resignation," but what we now understand was actually a profound reassessment of work's role in people's lives. 

The way remote work was adopted demonstrated that productivity could be maintained outside traditional office environments, while simultaneously blurring the boundaries between professional and personal life.

During this period, employees began more openly questioning the returns they were getting on their time investment. This represented the early stages of the psychological power shift we see more fully realized in 2025.

Beyond Compensation: The Search for Meaning and Stability

Employees are looking for some type of connection between their work and the things that matter to them on a personal level.

"Today's workforce is seeking more than just a paycheck or perks. They want purpose, alignment with personal values, and authentic connection," notes Jen Paterno, Senior Behavioral Scientist at CoachHub.

"They're seeking roles where their voices are heard, their identities are respected, and where they feel empowered to contribute meaningfully. Human-centric leadership and relationship-building skills are, more than ever, non-negotiables in creating that kind of employee experience."

At the same time, Ann Kuss, CEO at Outsource Your Team, has observed a renewed focus on fundamentals as she speaks with candidates in the tech space. 

"The market has shifted towards concrete needs for stability,” she said. “What we get asked a lot is how stable the job is. A few years ago, that wouldn't even be on the table, but nowadays people are looking for stability. There is a shift in demand for flexible bonus models, better communication around pay progression and more comprehensive benefits as well."

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The Current State: "Retention-Tension" in 2025

Today's workplace is characterized by what researchers call "retention-tension" – a phenomenon where workplace insecurity creates competing psychological forces.

Employees may outwardly demonstrate commitment while being increasingly "poachable" when presented with better opportunities.

Traditional metrics are significantly underestimating flight risk. For every 100 employees who don't express an intention to leave, approximately 23 additional employees would depart if presented with an alternative offer – representing a 58% underestimation of turnover risk.

What's Driving the Shift?

Three major business challenges are accelerating these changes:

1. Innovation Pressure: While 83% of executives rank innovation as a top priority, employee engagement has hit a decade-low at just 31%, creating tension between organizational goals and workforce readiness.
2. Skills Revolution: With 39% of core workforce skills expected to transform by 2030, employees are experiencing "obsolescence anxiety" while organizations face widening capability gaps.
3. AI Transformation: As 40% of employers plan AI-driven workforce restructuring, leadership trust continues to erode, amplifying the tension between security needs and significance.

"As AI transformation accelerates, organizations face a significant challenge from employees who simultaneously seek greater security about how their roles will evolve while needing assurance that their work still matters," says Dr. Waters.

"Companies that address both needs—providing clarity about the future while elevating human contribution—will significantly outperform those focusing solely on technological implementation. This isn't just about managing change. It's about aligning with fundamental human psychology in the workplace."

From work-life balance to work-life fit

The concept of work-life balance has evolved substantially over the past decade. At times, it has been made to sound like a somewhat ambiguous or overly squishy term, but ask most employees to list their priorities over the last five years and the term “work-life balance" was likely to make an appearance.

Increasingly, this terminology is changing to better suit current circumstances.

"With a shift to remote work, there's a shift in understanding about work life balance, we now hear more about work life fit and people want personalized benefits," explains Kuss. This evolution reflects a deeper understanding that different employees have different needs at different life stages.

However, there's a growing gap between what employees want and what organizations provide. 

"People's desires for flexibility aren't necessarily being met right now. We see companies are not ready to shift to fully remote working in many cases even though that's what candidates want," Kuss notes.

The generational impact

There is a great deal of tension in the workplace between generations and part of that is down to the different ways in which they see the world and work itself. As a result, their priorities and markers for workplace satisfaction vary drastically.

"Gen Z is the current primary driver," Paterno observes. "They've grown up questioning institutions, advocating for inclusion, and expecting transparency. They aren't afraid to challenge the status quo or push back on outdated norms. While other generations may still hold onto traditional markers of success like titles or compensation, Gen Z is demanding a new kind of currency—authenticity, flexibility, and purpose."

With the first members of Gen Alpha potentially entering the workforce as early as 2028, these trends are expected to strengthen rather than diminish in the coming years.

The culture disconnect

One of the biggest strains on culture and trust comes down to a simple, unsurprising, trend that seems to permeate things like RTO mandates, efforts to monitor employees and even the flattening of hierarchies. Leaders are often out of touch. 

"There's a growing disconnect between the culture executives envision and the reality employees experience," Paterno points out. "I have long said that true culture will always be a groundswell. With middle management shrinking, Gen Z is stepping into roles that define the daily tone and flow of work."

The continued importance of skill development

Despite shifts in priorities, professional growth remains critical. Research suggests that around three quarters of employees feel that they need to upskill, and fast. 

"Skill development is still very important as well. Tech companies are putting a lot of effort into development programs and that's attractive to talent," says Kuss. 

The Fractional Insights research shows that 90% of employees value growth opportunities.

The power distance effect

Interestingly, demographic factors like age, gender, or race don't significantly predict workplace angst. 

What does matter is organizational power. Those furthest from decision-making authority experience up to twice the workplace angst of managers and executives.

This "power distance effect" reveals that how employees experience work is heavily influenced by their proximity to organizational influence.

The economic reality

The desire for stability faces significant headwinds in the current economic landscape. It’s something that orgs simply can’t provide and with cost cutting measures, layoffs, and more political turmoil making headlines every day, the economic reality of 2025 is not going to minimize anyone’s angst any time soon. 

"The stability part is the hardest to provide. Within our economic context and companies having to cut cost in the next few quarters, some are looking at options for moving operations and that impacts how much companies want to hire, where they want to hire, what they're willing to invest in talent," Kuss explains.

"In terms of flexibility and development, I think tech companies are doing a decent job overall of meeting candidate needs or wants, but the stability part is another thing that is out of their hands a little bit."

Employee Psychological Profiles

The Fractional Insights research identifies three distinct psychological profiles that shape how people approach their work:

1. Universalists (35%): Seek to fulfill security, significance, and growth through work and expect comprehensive organizational support.
2. Stewards (10.5%): Value security and significance but take personal responsibility for their own growth and development.
3. Transactionalists (54.5%): Primarily seek security and fair exchange, less dependent on work for growth and meaning.

Waters believes that successful organizations will recognize these varying profiles and provide flexible systems that accommodate different psychological needs without creating separate classes of employee experience.

“While office perks and traditional advancement opportunities still have their place, the organizations that will excel in the latter half of this decade are those that deliberately engineer their systems to align with these deeper psychological needs,” she said.

Looking Forward: 2025 and Beyond

As we progress through 2025, several key themes are emerging:

1. The "Angst Index" is becoming a leading indicator of productivity challenges and talent flight, present in 44% of employees currently.
2. "Psychological Ergonomics" is reshaping work design, with organizations systematically aligning environments with human psychology.
3. AI is amplifying the security-significance tension, requiring organizations to provide both clarity about the future and assurance that human contributions still matter.

"This value-driven mindset is only going to deepen over time," predicts Paterno. "As AI handles more technical and repetitive work, the demand for human skills like empathy, adaptability, and coaching will rise. We will need to see companies invest more in cultural initiatives, employee experience design, and leadership development. Coaching will become a core tool, not a luxury, to help managers and emerging leaders foster stronger relationships and team cohesion."

What’s Next? 

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