Edgar Schein introduced the concept of Career Anchors in the 1970s -a time of corporate ladders, gold watches, and "jobs for life."
The theory was simple: as we gain experience, we discover a "dominant anchor" (like Security, Autonomy, or Technical Competence) that stabilises our career choices.
As I reflect on my experience and conversations, I cant help thinking: What happens to an anchor when the seabed dissolves?
The Stability Paradox. We are living in the era of the "boundaryless career." The gig economy, remote work, and AI disruption have dismantled the traditional structures that Schein’s anchors were designed to latch onto.
If an employee has a "Security/Stability" anchor, the modern workplace is a source of chronic trauma. There is no tenure anymore. If an employee has an "Autonomy" anchor, the "freedom" of 24/7 digital connectivity might actually feel like a trap.
This matters for many leaders working in organisations trying to retain talent using 1990s playbooks in a 2020s reality. We assume that if we pay people enough or give them a nice title, they will stay.
But if the external world is chaotic, people retreat to their internal anchors more fiercely than ever.
- The "Technical/Functional" expert doesn't want to be a manager, yet we keep promoting them into incompetence because that’s the only path we offer.
- The "Lifestyle" anchored parent isn't "quiet quitting"; they are protecting their core identity against a system that demands total absorption.
The New Contract. As leaders, we need to stop pretending we can offer the old version of stability. We can't.
What we can offer is congruence. We can help our people align their work with who they actually are right now. That requires moving beyond the "gig" mentality and understanding the human being doing the work.
In a boundaryless world, the only stability your people have is the one they carry inside them. Do you know what it is for you? For me its a stable mind.
