Employees reject promotions due to the lack of increased compensation for responsibility: 'We just don't want to work like our superiors'

Author image for Brad Dickson
Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Oct 2, 2024 6:00 PM EDT

Moving up the chain in any workplace comes with a certain amount of sacrifice, as you get more responsibility, your ability to simply log off and not worry about the fate and trajectory of your work slowly decreases. Sure, you might get less productive work done every day due to all the oversight and meetings, but the responsibility rests a heavy weight on your shoulders all the same.

Of course, you get paid more, too, and that has its own benefits. But, there reaches a point where more and more responsibility is being thrust upon you—exponentially—and you'll find yourself wondering if it's all worth it. You'll find more and more of these responsibilities are above your even increased pay grade, probably because some management position farther up the chain was dissolved, and their tasks are now being passed down to you.

I know plenty of experienced professionals around my age and older who have opted not to move up in their respective organizations or career paths. Sometimes, they even opt to take a pay cut to work a four-day week to have more personal time and a better overall work-life balance. Of course, not everyone is able to do this, but for those who are, it remains a choice worth making.

We've seen an increasing number of stories like this in recent times, with workers choosing not to take on opportunities for promotion and more responsibility, leaving their bosses and the organizations they work for wondering where to turn to fill vacant roles. 

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    Boomer boss moaning about millennials rejecting promotions I work for a big company in central Europe. HQ has about 1000 employees and millennials make up 30% of the force here. A bunch of them have been rejecting promotions or opportunities to apply for higher ranks in the company ever since
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    covid. My boss summoned me and asked why I haven't applied for any of these positions. No promotion offered. Just the question. My peers and I have spoken about this at length and the consensus is that we just don't want to work like our superiors.
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    They are behind their desks for 60 hours a week and there is a cap on overtime. There are dozens of other cons that just don't make it worth the extra income. I told my boss this and he said it is unbelievable that a "young person" would turn down a promotion. We're not committed enough to ensure the company moves forward etc., etc.
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    There are a few colleagues our age who have been ruthlessly climbing the ladder and they frankly They vibe with the same outlook as the boomers and I'm concerned that the workplace will never change because once they're in charge they won't change anything.
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    AlternativeAd... • 7h ago • They conveniently forget how supply and demand works when the ball's on their court. If you offer a job and no one wants it, your offer simply There's no demand for it. Make a better offer or another employer will outcompete you and poach your talent.
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    Hortos 7h ago • . The promotions internally typically don't come with enough of an increase in compensation to deal with the increased headache and responsibility. They'll likely also hire someone externally for the same position but with 20% more money.
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    • tehjoz 6h ago. We're not committed enough to ensure the company moves forward Well, since corporations stopped being committed to paying living, and thriving wages, so their employees and families can grow, and enjoy life instead of slaving away the entirety of their existence for the shareholders, then, yeah.
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    Workers are Acting Their Wages and shareholders don't like it. Cry us a river, or make it worth our while.
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    IAmIceBear74 7h ago. . When I entered big corporate 6 years ago, I set it as my goal to move up as quick as possible. Now....not so much. I was on a track to get promoted this cycle but manager's manager put a stop to that saying I don't have the right platform or backing.
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    First I was off, but now.....i don't mind it. Cause I see what comes with that promotion. Its not just title title and pay, but also a new layer of to deal with and compounding stress. So now I am not in a super rush, i'll bring it up from time to time to show the appearance of wanting to progress but it'll happen when it happens.
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    Jazzkidscoins • 7h ago. I'm not a millennial, I'm gen-x, but I feel the same way about promotions and so does my wife. Early in my career I was a shift leader then manager at an IT call center, then I was a network admin with 3 techs under me. I hated every minute of it. I cannot stand the drama, the politics, the stress. I'm self employed
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    now but I'm in a couple of volunteer organizations. For 10 years I avoided a leadership position and 2 years ago I took one because the person I was under was leaving. I have absolutely hated every second of it. I also run a band and all the stupid interpersonal drama that I have to deal with, it's like dealing with children. My
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    wife has been offered a promotion at her job several times in the last year. It has a decent bump in pay but she just doesn't want to have to deal with the extra stress and time involved in being in management.
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    Is it sad that I'm good at what I do, I really enjoy it, and I just want to do that. I don't need to lead other people who are doing it because then all my time is dealing with them and not doing the job that I enjoy.
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    My dad was an amazing computer programmer. He started in the 60s and actually created OSs. He could program machine code, he actually created the os for early digital phone switches, he was part of team that created the first cell phone network. He worked for the government for years doing all sorts of classified projects. He never had a
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    problem finding a job. Then when he hit about 45, he got promoted to middle management, because he wanted more money. After that he was constantly ☐ off form one I company after another because they always got rid if middle management first. Then he couldn't get a job doing what he was before middle management because he was "over qualified and would probably quit as soon as a better offer came along" after a few years it broke him.
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    MatrixLLC 6h ago . any job that required me to work more than 40 hours was an automatic no i have always preferred a 35 hour work week, start time 9am but i've done it at 8am promotions? i've always been happy enough with salary, i've changed jobs to another company doing the same work at a higher salary
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    i've been told over the years i'm not ambitious with work but my skill range is solid because i wasn't afraid to take a new job and learn something new i'm comfortable in life and not being upper mgmt is fine i'm a boomer
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    SheiB123 4h ago They want 2 times the work for a 3% raise. Not going to happen. I am happy that people aren't taking that anymore
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    Boring-Onion 6h ago. And whatever pay increase. comes with the "promotion" doesn't justify those increased hours and the stress that comes with more responsibilities. What's worse is that you know the company will pay maybe 10-15% more than what they offered you if they had to hire externally. Yeah, I'm good with that...
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    NATOuk . 6h ago. As an old millennial I think I was ahead of the curve on this one, I developed this attitude long before covid. I remember working for a really corporate IT consultancy having moved around IT jobs working my way up the ranks but I suddenly discovered the right level of pay, work/life balance that I was happy with and decided that I didn't want to go any higher.
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    I remember sitting in one of those stupid annual performance review meetings chatting to my boss (nice guy) and he said I was doing good and what I should do in the coming year to try to get promoted to a managing consultant. I instantly responded that I had no interest in promoting and he seemed genuinely shocked. I said
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    that it came with a modest salary jump but also meant taking on a lot of extral responsibilities (including having sales targets, a horrific prospect as a tech guy) in addition to normal, plus having to put in more hours due to all this. I said I was currently paid enough to be comfortable, I had a good work/life balance and was very happy at my current rank. He seemed a mixture of shocked,
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    bemused and maybe even a little jealous but accepted my decision. I'm pretty sure I had my card marked negatively in the company for being 'non ambitious' My friend is a corporate greasy pole climber who now earns a big salary and is a CEO of a small company and I think I developed my attitude from seeing him devote crazy amounts of hours each week to his job, trying to balance wife+kids and his
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    life largely rotated around his job, even when hanging. out socially there was always some form of talk about his work. So yeah, rather than Peter out, I hit my preferred level of pay, responsibility and work/life balance and I'm happy. I have time to sail my boat, travel etc guilt free.
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    Vamproar • 5h ago One of the problems with the current economic consensus is that it tends to elevate exactly the folks who should not lead anything.
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    Witty_Magazi... • 5h ago And I bet that those promotions don't come with more financial compensation, do they? Hard work only leads to more hard work.
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    Abbreviations... • 4h ago It's because we've had decades now where the benefit of a company moving forward NEVER trickles down to the people actually doing the work. I've turned down several managerial opportunities because they would be massive headaches with limited compensation. Plus, they'd take me away from the actual WORK I love, instead having to sit in meetings with all these types...
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