PwC CEO Paul Griggs' Career Advice: 'What You Put In Is What You Get Out'

For young workers trying to get ahead, PwC US CEO Paul Griggs has a simple message: doing more than the job requires can help accelerate a career.

Griggs says employees who stay curious, take on unfamiliar challenges, and put in extra effort can gain an advantage over colleagues who simply complete their assigned tasks. In a recent interview with Business Insider, he suggested that this mindset can sometimes extend into personal time, including weekends. Fortune reported his comments on August 3.

His advice has sparked a wider debate about whether the traditional culture of going above and beyond still offers a reliable route to promotion, particularly as younger workers place greater emphasis on flexibility, wellbeing, and boundaries between work and personal life.

PwC CEO Links Curiosity to Career Progression

Griggs' argument is not limited to working longer hours. His broader point is that employees who actively look for ways to learn and contribute can become more visible within an organisation.

He gave the example of two colleagues finishing work on a Friday. One might spend some of their free time researching an issue they encountered during the week, while the other moves on from work entirely. According to Griggs, the employee who remains curious and continues learning can return to work with greater knowledge and eventually receive more responsibility.

'What you put into it is what you get out of it,' Griggs said, describing a willingness to say yes, put in the time, and remain curious as important elements of career development. That approach, he argued, can lead to additional responsibilities and eventually progression into more senior roles.

The Advice Comes as AI Changes the Workplace

The debate arrives as artificial intelligence is changing the skills employers expect from workers. PwC's own research highlights the accelerating impact of AI on jobs, skills, and organisational structures. The firm says businesses increasingly need to redesign work and invest in skills as AI adoption expands.

Griggs has also been closely involved in PwC's workforce strategy. The firm says he co-led its My+ people strategy, which focuses on career development and upskilling its workforce on generative AI. That makes the career advice particularly relevant for younger employees entering a workplace where technical knowledge can quickly become outdated.

Learning beyond a formal job description can potentially help workers build skills and gain exposure to areas that may become valuable as roles evolve. But developing those skills does not necessarily require being permanently available to an employer.

Young Workers Question the Cost of Going the Extra Mile

The reaction online has highlighted the tension between career ambition and work-life balance.

A Reddit discussion about Griggs' comments in the r/Accounting community attracted significant engagement, with some users arguing that additional effort can create opportunities while others questioned whether working longer hours actually guarantees promotion. One commenter said taking on additional responsibilities and making progress could be more valuable than simply working weekends.

Other commenters were considerably more critical, arguing that workers can become overworked without receiving the advancement they were promised. The debate is not entirely theoretical. In a separate r/PwC discussion, one employee described regularly working evenings and weekends and said the experience was contributing to burnout.

Those reactions underline an important distinction missing from much of the online debate: initiative and excessive working hours are not necessarily the same thing.

What Career-Minded Workers Can Take From the Advice

There is a potentially useful lesson in Griggs' comments without treating weekend work as a requirement for success. Volunteering for a difficult project can expose an employee to senior colleagues. Learning a new skill can make a worker more adaptable. Taking responsibility when an opportunity appears can demonstrate that someone is ready for a larger role.

Fortune also highlighted similar advice from other business leaders, including McDonald's CEO Chris Kempczinski, AMD CEO Lisa Su, and former Walmart CEO Doug McMillon. Their approaches differ, but each has emphasised initiative, resilience, or taking on difficult opportunities as part of career development.

For young professionals, however, the more sustainable interpretation may be to work strategically rather than simply work longer. Taking on opportunities that build useful skills can strengthen a career. Constantly sacrificing evenings and weekends may instead create burnout, particularly if there is no clear path to greater responsibility or recognition.

Griggs' comments have therefore touched on a much bigger workplace question: whether career progression in 2026 should be measured by how much time an employee gives to work, or by how effectively they use their time to learn, contribute, and adapt.

For workers navigating an increasingly competitive and AI-driven job market, that distinction could matter more than the number of hours spent online after Friday's working day ends.