Should You Accept That Job Promotion?

Angela was excited to share the news; she was offered a promotion to regional manager! As an outside sales representative for a Fortune 500 company, Angela’s current role involved traveling within her assigned state region to build and maintain relationships with corporate customers. She was successful, and the promotion was evidence that her hard work was noticed.

Maybe it’s my tendency toward curiosity, but I asked what she looked forward to in the manager role. Angela’s immediate reply focused on the promotion being an honor, as it was one rung higher on the corporate ladder, and it didn’t hurt that it came with a modest pay raise.

I assumed that moving up the hierarchy was part of her overall career goals, but I was surprised to learn that Angela had no interest in leadership roles that would take her away from relationships with customers.

The more we talked, Angela began focusing on the fact that the manager position was mostly about supervision and development of the sales team, and the only interactions with customers were tangential to those primary goals.

I hadn’t intended to sow seeds of doubt about the promotion, but by asking a series of genuine questions about what Angela might like and dislike about the manager role compared to her current one, she gradually came to some realizations.

The promotion entailed giving up the aspects of her career she found most rewarding and taking on several clearly less appealing (not to mention greater responsibility and potentially longer work hours). By the end of our conversation, she decided to turn down the offer and focus on continued success in her current position.

What's the Problem With a Job Promotion?

When we have an opportunity for a job promotion, either within our current organization or another one, it seems obvious to take it. After all, people treat promotions as positive opportunities, and the increased status and pay reinforce that perception.

However, the assumptions about the promotion can blind us to an honest evaluation of whether we will be at least as happy as we are now should we take on the added responsibilities and the shift in job functions. Increased income seems like a persuasive factor, yet human nature is such that we quickly grow accustomed to the change. Plus, having enough money to pay for what we need is indeed related to a less stressful life, yet increases beyond that level do not result in greater happiness.

One problem with job promotions is that they are frequently used as a recognition and reward for top performance. However, the interests and skills needed in the new role may not overlap with those of the role in which the candidate has been successful.

This phenomenon was the focus of a book popular in the 1970s, The Peter Principle by Laurence J. Peter and Raymond Hull. The premise is that, within a hierarchy, people tend to rise to the level of their incompetence. Because success at one level results in promotion to the next, people get “stuck” at the level where the job no longer matches their interests and abilities (and thus, they don’t earn a promotion beyond that role).

What Can You Do?

Avoiding the Peter Principle involves self-examination and the willingness to act on it. What brings you the most satisfaction, or is most engaging, at work? Would a new role offer more or less of those things? Is there someplace you’re trying to get to within the larger hierarchy? Why?

If the destination is worthy, will the promotion help you get there? And if so, is it worth the costs in the meantime? These can be difficult questions to answer, especially if they lead to the same conclusion Angela made. However, because work is such an influential factor in our overall life satisfaction, we can’t afford the potential costs of a lack of self-examination.