Talent pipelines | HR's big task - promoting promotions amid a career progression slump

Remember the good old days – you know, when talent was so keen to earn more, progress, and move up the corporate ladder, that they would be actively knocking on HR or their line-managers’ doors to get them that next coveted step up?

Today, HR professionals could be forgiven for thinking his would be a nice problem to have. Recent data from global consulting firm, Randstad, suggests this chutzpah of old is being replaced by antipathy and ennui, where rather than wanting to take the next rung up, many employees are actively resisting it, preferring to stay exactly where they are. Randstad found nearly half of employees (42%) actually said they would decline a promotion if offered one.

This HR-worrying change can – according to many – be entirely explained by a shift in what employees regard as important; of employees preferring to have a job where they feel valued and which provides the balance they need for a fulfilling life, rather than stress and long hours. Cold, hard cash or job-titles are out; inclusion and respect are in. As one Reddit user, replying to a thread called ‘I don’t want a promotion at work’ said: “Management [typically what a promotion entails] isn’t a promotion. It’s just a different kind of job that comes with extra stress and reduced work-life balance. If your quality of life goes down 20% and your salary goes up 10%, would you call it a promotion?”

Promotion feels anxiety-inducing to many

“Having staff that don’t want to move up should be a growing concern for HRDs,” says counselling psychologist and psychotherapist, Glenn Mason.