SurveyMonkey: 64% of employees want top roles, but 43% have no growth opportunities

Workplace ambition is not a one-size-fits-all pursuit, with employees having a range of ideas as to what it takes to reach the top.

SurveyMonkey’s 2025 Workplace Culture and Trends highlights this, as it showed that two in three (64%) of the 3,573 full-time US workers polled were aiming to reach top leadership roles, such as becoming business owners or C-suite members.

However the path to the top can differ greatly. To gain a deeper understanding of what this means, UNLEASH spoke exclusively to Sam Gutierrez, Senior Research Scientist at SurveyMonkey.

Bridging the gap between ambition and growth

Although SurveyMonkey’s findings made it clear that ambition is not lost in the workforce, most half (43%) of those polled said that there was little to no room for growth opportunities at their current role.

In fact, 43% of entry-level ICs reported feeling a lack of opportunity, compared to 48% of experienced professionals and 37% of those in management positions. 

Gen Z were also particularly found to feel less content with their current position, with 54% actively pursuing change with 18% feeling stuck or unsure of the future. 

Only 28% of Gen Z reported feeling satisfied with their current position, compared to 38% of Millennials, and 47% of Gen X employees.

Gen Z were also found to be more ambitious, with 80% striving for top level positions, compared to 70% of Millennials and 57% of Gen X.

Additionally, women were found to be less motivated than men to reach top positions, 58% to 68%, respectively.

But could part of this motivation gap be due to the increased dependency on AI?

SurveyMonkey’s research highlights that there is an increased use of AI in the workplace, which has led to one in five workers admitting to using the tool without informing their managers. 

Gutierrez calls this ‘shadow AI’. 

He explains: “Our latest research reveals a significant clarity gap in the modern workplace: a ‘shadow AI’ workforce is emerging, not out of deception, but from a lack of clear rules,” says Gutierrez.

“Workers admitted to using Gen AI without notifying their leadership (20%) or their clients and users of their product or service (15%), creating a disconnect between what is allowed and what is being done. Rather than a sign of ill intent, this is a signal that employees are seeking more efficient ways to work.”

However, managers are more likely than individual contributors to admit to both, with 29% of managers saying they use AI to do their work without telling their bosses, compared to 14% of individual contributors.

The onus is on HR leaders to bridge this gap with open dialogue and education, proactively defining the new rules of AI. By empowering workers with clear guidelines, companies can turn hidden AI use into transparent and productive innovation.”

Unsurprisingly, financial security (47%) and improvement opportunities (47%) were cited to be the key motivators to encourage employees to success, followed by inspiration from others (42%), pursuit of positive perception (41%), career growth (37%) and work-life balance (36%).

So with this in mind, in your organization, what do you believe are the key drivers and inhibitors to employee motivation?