Yahoo Finance Why people don't want to climb the career ladder to become managers
Becoming a manager was once an important step on the career ladder, but workers are increasingly shunning this path. This isn’t because of a lack of ambition, however. Today’s workers are redefining what success – and most importantly, job satisfaction – looks like.
A recent survey of 1,000 Americans by the workplace-analytics-software company Visier found that less than half – 38% – said they aspired to be a manager at their current company. The remaining 62% said they would prefer to stay as individual contributors.
And it’s not the company that makes the difference, as only 36% said they were interested in becoming a people manager at a different organisation. So why are people rejecting managerial positions – and what does this leadership gap mean for businesses?
Retreat from the corporate grind
Whether you’re ‘quiet quitting’ or embracing ‘quiet ambition’ – focusing on individual fulfilment instead of traditional ideals of job success – TikTok workplace trends all point to one important fact. Many people are no longer willing to make their jobs the main focus of their existence, and are drawing firm lines between their work and personal lives.
Instead of orienting their lives around their careers, employees are turning away from the corporate grind and shifting their priorities away from work. When Visier asked workers about their ambitions, 67% said they wanted to spend more time with friends and family, 64% said they wanted to stay physically and mentally healthy and 58% said they wanted to travel. Only 9% said they wanted to become a manager and just 4% wanted to go into C-suite roles.
The pandemic undoubtedly played an important role in this shift. When faced with an unprecedented threat, many of us began to rethink what was important to us. Suddenly, hopping from rung to rung of the career ladder seemed less important than our health and happiness – which ultimately comes from having a good work-life balance. But this change was already in progress before Covid-19. A 2014 survey of 3,625 workers found that only a third (34%) aspired to leadership positions.
Read more: Women aren't just hitting the 'glass ceiling', they're stumbling on 'broken rungs'
People like being individual contributors
Many people don’t want their boss’s job because they like the work that they do. Being an individual contributor – doing your own work without managing other people – now comes with more status than it used to. A freelance developer can enjoy their work and earn a decent salary without dealing with the challenges that go along with management.
The prestige of being a manager is becoming less attractive, as it can mean doing less of what you actually want to do. The trade-off of more hours and stress for an incremental amount of extra money no longer seems worth it. Among those surveyed, 40% said their biggest worry with becoming a manager was increased stress, pressure and more time spent working.
Today’s workers don’t have to be a manager to be successful and satisfied. And importantly, there are fewer opportunities for people to work their way up the traditional corporate ladder, as many organisations have become flatter.
Different generations hold different attitudes towards work. According to research by the Washington Post, millennials – those born between 1980 and 1994 – are less interested in managing other people. However, they are interested in advancement and do want more personal responsibility. To address this shift, some companies have even changed their definition of workplace success by designing career tracks that don’t lead to managerial positions.
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Childcare costs
Crucially, though, not everyone is rejecting managerial jobs by choice. When broken down by gender, the Visier data reveals a stark gap between women and men. Of those surveyed, 44% of men are interested in becoming people managers at their current organisation, compared to 32% of women.
Men still dominate UK workplace management and leadership roles, which can deter women from pushing for managerial jobs. Perhaps more significantly, more women are choosing part-time work – or prioritising flexible work – over management positions because of the rising cost of childcare. Many top jobs require a time commitment that excludes most mothers – and by extension, many women.
What does this leadership gap mean for employers?
With fewer people wanting managerial roles, it’s possible that organisations may face a shortage of leaders as baby boomers and Gen X retire.
To address this, employers must provide support and align benefits with what employees want. If managerial roles came with flexible hours or job share options, it could well make these jobs more attractive.
But it’s also important to remember how valuable individual contributors are. Not everyone wants to manage – and being a good manager requires specific skills that only a handful of people have.
Watch this: Could AI powered managers become the future of work?
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