A new survey conducted by Ford Motor Co. found that 52% of employed people globally would be willing to take a 20% pay cut for better work/life balance.
"It shocked us. I’ll be honest," said Jen Brace, chief futurist at Ford who coordinated the 2024 Trend Report and its findings. "A 20% pay cut is a big deal. I didn’t think we’d get the level of response in terms of number of people; 52% is huge. If you look generationally, and if you look in the U.S. in particular, you saw our younger generations being even more willing to give up money for a better quality of life."
In the U.S., the responses by age willing to take the 20% pay cut: Generation Z (born between 1997-2012) was 56%; millennials (born between 1981-96) was 60%; Gen X (born between 1965-80) was 43%; and baby boomers (born between 1946-64) was 33%.
The survey — conducted via 16,086 online interviews in August and September with people 18 years and older in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, Spain, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom and the United States — also found that 77% of respondents prioritize a balanced life over advancement at work.
The latest findings show a significant value of time over money among groups of all ages, Ford said. This is the first year the study has presented a question about a potential pay cut in exchange for working less.
While looking at work/life balance, people express having more anxiety, feeling overwhelmed and stressed out about the state of their mental health, Brace said.
"It's a shift," she said. "They're saying, 'I'm not willing to give up all these things in my life. I'm not willing to put my family time on hold for work. I want to focus on me, on things I think will be more valuable.' It's a shift we're seeing generationally."
Jen Brace, chief futurist at Ford Motor Co., oversees trend research that helps inform company decisions and strategy.
Ford uses the trend data to support and inform business decisions, including marketing, strategy, vehicle design and product development. For example, if workers are willing to pass up a promotion at work for less stress or more family time, that affects how talent is retained.
Caring less about money
Mauro Guillen, a professor at the Wharton School of Management at the University of Pennsylvania, said Americans are just now catching up to the European idea of leisure being more valuable than higher income, which doesn't actually impact a company's productivity. But it does keep the workforce healthier and happier, he told the Detroit Free Press.
"People who have a stable job with a company have come to the realization that there are other things in life beyond just making a ton of money, especially for women," Guillen said. "Some people would say we're in a post-materialist world, that people are caring less about material things and more about quality of life. Values have shifted."
Still, that's not all, he said: "People have realized that you work more because you want to save more money. But people have been burned in the last 20 years, several times. You work very hard to save and then the stock market takes a hit ... with all this volatility, who knows what's going to happen. So why should I save for the future? Let me just enjoy life now."
The 2024 Trend Report by Ford Motor Co. finds that a significant number of workers are willing to take a 20% pay cut to achieve a better work/life balance.
Diane Pacom, a sociology professor emeritus from the University of Ottawa in Canada, said the mindset of the current workforce has changed completely. And, again, women are a driving force, she said.
"Women approach work in a different way than men, most prioritizing the way they relate to their families. This is a huge change," Pacom told the Free Press. "We see women more and more as the ones who have the biggest influence on our rapport with work now. Their presence in society is more accepted and more powerful."
She said, "The good life for women is not related to work only. They expect to have time for the kids, time for a love life, time for traveling."
Shifting attitudes
These themes also help Ford better understand and connect with consumers, the company said.
Findings show that the vehicle is sort of like "the new dinner table," Brace said. "When it comes to connecting with your family, sometimes the vehicle is the best place to do that. You've got a captive audience when you're all in the same space."
Respondents are also expressing a desire to get outdoors more often, how they'd like to reprioritize their time and take care of themselves, Brace said. "A lot of our vehicles are geared for that, getting out there and experiencing nature. "
Brace, who grew up in Redford, is a mechanical engineer by training. She earned undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Michigan. Her father, Robert Brace, retired from Ford as a technician who machined engine parts in the dynamometer lab to support engine testing.
"He was building hot rods in the garage when I was a kid," Brace said "I grew up around cars. We joke that one of my first jobs was to hand him tools in the garage. I handed him wrenches."
The Mustang's traditional 'double-brow' dashboard has been replaced by an instrument panel with a 12.4-inch high-def instrument cluster and 13.2-inch touch screen in the 2024 model.
Brace, who took over as chief futurist last year after Sheryl Connelly retired, comes from a background of human-centered design and experience. Brace spent several years in the Ford lab in Palo Alto, California, where she worked on research and experiences in autonomous vehicles.
Changing social attitudes and field research inform design, innovation and marketing campaign themes.
The job of the futurist is to track social, technological, economic, environmental and political trends and shifts happening among consumers and society at large. This story touches on just a few of the key findings.
Wellness: Survey responses indicate that people around the world are feeling anxious and trying to take actions to find inner peace. The global data showed that:
44% of people are putting themselves before what others want or ask of them
48% of people are cutting toxic relationships out of their life
83% of adults agree that for children to be prepared for adulthood, mental health is more important than academic success
Sustainability: Fewer people say they're changing their behavior to actively fight climate change with 75% in 2023, down from 78% in 2020. People indicate they'll embrace change if it's convenient, the report showed.
47% of people believe others should drive EVs to help fight climate change, yet only 4% of them do
35% of people believe others should drive hybrid vehicles to help fight climate change, yet only 8% of them do
Parenting: The term family is changing. No longer do the majority of individuals view family as being married or having kids, Brace said. Many adults say that their ideal life in the next 10 years looks like having pets more than having children.
These changing attitudes are a byproduct of more awareness about medical realities, Guillen said. "Stress kills. Anything that helps reduce stress, people will go for it."
Jason Moser, a clinical psychologist who teaches at Michigan State University, said he is not surprised by the study results, which he is seeing among college students now. "Mental health is definitely in the public consciousness way more than it has been. The COVID pandemic pushed into sharp relief the notion of mental health, social contact, isolation, what it meant to be sad, not being able to connect with people. ... The world shut down and we had lots of time to reflect. That also led to people reminding themselves to be healthy in general."
Babies vs. pets
And planning for more pets than babies is a reality, he said. "Pets are less expensive than babies. You don't have to worry as much. They don't tie you up as much. You can enjoy life. Pets don't reduce your freedom as much. People are shifting their attitudes about what they want in life. It's cheaper and the burden of responsibility is not as high."
The ripple effect of social networks is powerful, Guillen said. "If your friends are doing that or your co-workers are doing that. There's a lot of socializing with pets. They go to the dog run. This is about lifestyle."
A dog is no longer just a dog or an animal, Pacom said. "Now a dog is a member of the family, which is very crazy, if you ask me. The animal acquires human features. The building in which I live in Toronto, there are hundreds of dogs. When a dog dies, the whole building is mourning. Now I see the parents of the dog, not the owners. It’s a huge shift."
