Has work ethic changed? Or are we looking at it through the wrong lens?

This is something that comes up a lot in conversations with hiring managers at the moment.

“We just want someone hungry.”

“Someone who’ll go the extra mile.”

“Someone who actually wants a career.”

And then on the other side, I speak to candidates (particularly earlier in their careers) who are focused on flexibility, wellbeing, progression and culture.

And honestly… I get both sides.

It does make you wonder though - has work ethic actually changed, or are we just measuring it differently now?

In my world (Legal PAs, EAs and legal support roles across law and financial services), I meet a huge range of candidates every week. And one thing I’ve definitely noticed is that the strongest junior people don’t always look like the “traditional” idea of hard work.

They’re not necessarily the ones sitting at their desk the longest.

But they are:

• Proactive
• Curious
• Quick to adapt
• Commercially aware
• Open to learning
• Comfortable with technology and change

And actually, they’re often the ones quietly making everyone else’s life easier without being asked.

That’s work ethic too.

The workplace itself has changed as well. Hybrid working is normal now, technology is moving fast, and expectations from candidates are very different to even a few years ago.

But I don’t think that automatically means people are less committed.

Some of the most ambitious candidates I work with are actively asking for more responsibility, more exposure and clearer progression from day one.

They want to grow - just not necessarily in the “work 12 hours a day and be seen at your desk” way that used to define ambition.

Where I do think there’s been a shift though is around face time.

And I’ll be honest, this is the bit I struggle with sometimes.

More and more, I see candidates viewing in person interviews or meetings as an inconvenience rather than part of the process. The commute, the time, the effort - all understandable concerns, but sometimes it means really good opportunities get overlooked too quickly.

And I think that’s a bit of a shame.

Because an interview isn’t just a hoop to jump through. It’s your chance to read the room, build rapport, understand the people, and actually feel whether a firm is right for you. You don’t really get that through a screen in the same way.

Especially in law firms and financial services, where relationships and trust still sit at the centre of everything, that face-to-face connection matters more than people probably realise.

The candidates who really stand out in my experience are usually the ones who lean into that - who show up, engage properly, and treat those meetings as part of the opportunity, not an inconvenience.

So, I suppose where I’ve landed is this:

I don’t think work ethic has disappeared. I think it’s changed shape.

But I also think there are still some traditional things - like face time, effort, and showing up - that haven’t lost their value, even if the world around them has changed.

Maybe it’s not about whether work ethic is better or worse. Maybe it’s just different… and we’re all still adjusting to what that looks like!

Interested to hear what others think on this one.

Has work ethic changed, or has our definition of it simply evolved?