For the past 22 years, global talent agency Ranstad has produced Workmonitor: a survey that explores the views of workers in Europe, Asia-Pacific and North America. In 2025, for the first time in the survey’s history, work-life balance surpassed pay as the leading motivator for employees (83% compared with 82%) – proving that workers are looking beyond their pay cheque for job fulfilment.

Particularly as burnout rates soar, workers are trying to find that elusive balance between their personal and professional lives.

How can they achieve it? We look at some of the latest TED Talks to find out.

1. Work Is Broken. Gen Z Can Help Fix It

Run time: 12 mins

What it’s about: Would you rather stay in the same job until you retire or change jobs every year? According to Amanda Schneider, researcher and ThinkLab founder, most gen Z workers – who are now aged up to 28 and comprise more than a quarter of the workforce – would choose the latter option.

Schneider uses this question to highlight differences in perspective between gen Z and older generations. She points out that gen Z prefers to build a career by gaining insights from multiple companies. This contrasts with older generations, who often value qualities such as tenure, loyalty and longevity, which are typically gained from staying with a single employer. Instead of ignoring or stereotyping this cohort, Schneider suggests we look at gen Z as a prototype to build better workplace structures and, in doing so, get rid of outdated systems that no longer serve us.

She talks about getting ‘phygital’ – blending the physical and digital worlds to enable us to work when and where we’re most productive. She also advocates for greater clarity and transparency about the trade-offs we will and won’t make for work. By adapting workplaces according to gen Z preferences, Schneider believes work can become more flexible and engaging for all generations.  

2. How to Reclaim Your Life From Work

Run time: 9 mins

What it’s about: If we want to develop a healthier relationship with work, we can't just think about work-life balance in terms of how we spend our time, says author and workplace expert Simone Stolzoff. Instead, we have to reconsider how we think about our identity. After all, work shouldn’t define who we are, it’s just one piece of a much bigger puzzle.

To diversify our identity, Stolzoff suggests creating time sanctuaries: periods when work is off the table. During these times, he recommends pursuing activities that reinforce the parts of our identity we want to cultivate. This might be playing with our children as engaged parents or studying a new language to reinforce our commitment to lifelong learning. He offers great strategies for structuring life to avoid work creep, emphasising the benefits of cultivating well-rounded versions of ourselves.

3. Why Joy and Flexibility are Good For Business

Run time: 7 mins

What it’s about: In the future, companies will succeed or fail based on how much joy they bring to the workplace. People and organisation expert Rosie Sargeant has crunched the numbers and found that making work enjoyable pays off. In the past 28 years, the stock returns of the top companies to work for in the US have been more than double their peers. As such, instead of striving to increase productivity, Sargeant believes leaders should focus on boosting enjoyment, and improved productivity and profits will follow.

In this short video, she examines companies including Trader Joe’s and Neiman Marcus, sharing the strategies they use to increase joy for staff and reduce frustrations – ultimately improving workers’ experience and the company’s bottom line.