August 19, 2026: I look at new research showing that most workers would reject a promotion if it meant sacrificing their work-life boundaries, and why the traditional management promotion may no longer feel worth the cost. Then I break down reporting that Anthropic out-earned OpenAI in the second quarter. Finally, I get into the surge in boomerang employees, who now account for 35% of new hires, and why companies are increasingly bringing former workers back.

Most Workers Reject Promotions, Anthropic Out-Earns OpenAI, &amp; Boomerang Hiring Hits a New High

Future Ready Leadership With Jacob Morgan

There's a question that used to have a pretty obvious answer. And that is that if you worked for an organization and you were offered a promotion, more money, more benefits, more perks, would you take that promotion? And for the better part of a century, for around 70 years, the obvious answer to that was yes. In fact, it wasn't even a question.

I think back to when I first entered the workforce, if somebody were to offer me a promotion, I wouldn't even think twice about it. I wouldn't ask any questions. I would simply say, sure, how much more is the salary increase going to be? I'll take it. When I worked at a movie theater and I got promoted from being just a usher to a supervisor, I think I started making $6.75 an hour and I went to $7.25 or $7.50 an hour. I didn't think twice. I said yes.

The assumption was that if the opportunity came along for a promotion into a supervisor role, into a manager role, you would take it because that was the career ladder. That was how you moved into the next stage of your career. And if you turned something down, something was wrong with you. What do you mean you don't want that promotion? Are you crazy? Why would you not want to be a supervisor? Why would you not want to be a leader inside the organization?

But today, a majority of workers actually say they do not want that promotion. That's going to be the lead story of the day. Why is that happening? Why are people turning down these promotional opportunities and roles? Are they crazy? Is there something wrong with them? And the interesting thing is that they're saying no in a soft...

Most Workers Reject Promotions, Anthropic Out-Earns OpenAI, & Boomerang Hiring Hits a New High

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.

Most Workers Reject Promotions, Anthropic Out-Earns OpenAI, &amp; Boomerang Hiring Hits a New High

Read the full transcript

The candid version is on a podcast, not the earnings call.

Most Workers Reject Promotions, Anthropic Out-Earns OpenAI, & Boomerang Hiring Hits a New High

The candid version is on a podcast,
not the earnings call.