When an employee leaves a job, pay is often the first reason that comes to mind. But today, more workers are changing roles to gain a specific experience or skill instead of prioritizing a bigger paycheck. This approach is known as “lily padding.”
The term describes a career less as climbing a single ladder and more as moving from one lily pad to another. Each role becomes a temporary stop where a person gains a skill or experience they need. Once they have achieved that goal, they move to the next pad. In March 2026, the Cambridge Dictionary included “lily padding” among its new word candidates, defining it as a career strategy of moving from one short-term job to another to gain specific skills and experience.
The metaphor gained attention alongside Glassdoor’s discussion of “career minimalism”. According to Glassdoor, 68% of Gen Z workers said they would only consider a management role if it came with higher pay or a better title, while 70% said AI at work has made them question their long-term job security. As the payoff from moving up becomes less compelling, workers are increasingly treating a broader skill set as a form of career security.
What does “lily padding” mean for employers?
Faster movement across jobs creates a measurable cost for employers. According to SHRM, replacing an employee can cost 50% to 200% of that employee’s annual salary, depending on their level. That total can include recruiting, onboarding, training, and lost productivity. Shorter tenures can also weaken institutional knowledge and reduce opportunities to build deep expertise.
The strategy is not risk free for employees either. Frequent moves can build a wider range of skills, but they may also limit opportunities to carry long-term projects through to completion or develop deep expertise in one area. For hiring managers looking for depth in senior roles, that can raise questions.
At the same time, it would be misleading to treat this pattern only as an engagement problem. As we discussed in our What Is a Portfolio Career? article, workers no longer see job stability as staying with the same employer for many years. A wider skill set and the ability to move between roles are becoming part of a new definition of career security.
For organizations, the response should be to separate retention from an expectation of loyalty. Employees should be able to see clearly what skills they can build, how their development path works, and what experiences they can access within the organization. Meanwhile, hiring practices also need a similar shift. Instead of asking only how long a candidate stayed in a role, employers should also ask what skills the candidate gained before moving on. If employees can see their next lily pad inside the organization, they may feel less need to look for one elsewhere.
