Interesting read on MSNBC about the number of people who DON’T want to be managers here (https://lnkd.in/er54KbF3.)
A full 42% of workers say that they would turn down a promotion. If, unlike me, you don’t have time to read the article the TL:DR, Coles Notes, high level, whatever; the reasons are;
🍁 People are already feeling overworked and underpaid
🍁 Management is getting more stressful
🍁 A promotion can take you off YOUR career track
🍁 Not everyone wants to be a manager right now
Want more of a synopsis?
🧩 This job ain’t great, why would I want more of it?
Assuming that this 42% are performing better than their colleagues and that the company has moved past the Peter Principle (it’s a thing and was first formalized in the 1960’s) it seems odd that they wouldn’t want a promotion at first.
However, the latest employee engagement survey show appalling lows; only 32% of the American workforce is fully engaged.
So what gives?
My contention is that these people who are declining promotions are doing just enough to “flex” into the demands of their current role and so are showing up in work like they like/love/tolerate it. And in an environment of ow engagement this has now become “good enough”.
So much for excellence.
What’s the answer?
No freaking idea.
I know how to find the answer though. Ask them. All of them. One by one.
As a certain Matt Poepsel, PhD at The Predictive Index says repeatedly “people are complicated”.
There’s a reason that that little icon that I last used was a piece of a jigsaw puzzle, it’s because your team are pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, all different, all with different motivating needs and behaviors.
Ask those pieces of the puzzle before they start (actually, we’ll do it for you), onboard them with that in mind (we can help there) and watch them thrive (we’ll even stand behind our work for a ridiculously long and generous 9 months to prove our point.
The upsides
🧩 Better employee retention
🧩 Better employee engagement
🧩 Higher productivity
🧩 Fewer sick days
🧩 Higher profitability
The downsides
🧩 ………..
Let’s talk.
