When was the last time you turned down an offer for a promotion and a raise? Don’t laugh, it’s apparently a thing now! 😲
Incentives for corporate America are shifting, and in ways that old timers in particular are having a hard time understanding. Whether you’re a young pup who feels this shift in your bones or an old geezer who is trying to help employees work hard and excel in their careers, it’s important to know what rings people’s bells.
Here are Five Fast Facts on workers playing a different game to get ahead:
- 🧓 Back In My Day - From Baby Boomers to Millennials, most older workers have typically viewed climbing the ladder as a good thing, and have been willing to work hard to get the nod for promotions and raises. Younger workers like Gen Zers, though, don’t buy it.
- ✋ Not So Fast - For some, it’s about avoiding any notice at all from the boss. For others, it’s a rejection of working long hours or going “above and beyond.” And some simply think it’s not worth sinking their full effort into a company that won’t think twice about laying them off. Um, it’s kinda hard to argue with that.
- ⏳ How We Got Here - A couple hundred years ago, almost all Americans were self-employed, whether through farming or running their own shops. The Industrial Revolution brought, well, a revolution, and from 1820 to 1870 the number of self-employed fell from 80% to 33%, and was only 20% by 1940. A new work theory emerged in the 1950s in the management class, pushing the idea of being a loyal soldier for a company in order to bring the most good to society. The corporate ladder was born!
- 🤷 By The Numbers - A recent HR survey showed a whopping 42% of US workers preferred to stay in their current role over getting a promotion! Dell recently declared workers wouldn’t be eligible for promotions unless they started coming into the office at least three days per week…and the workers said, “meh.”
- 🤔 What To Do - Don’t worry, that famed American productivity is not in jeopardy! It just takes a different kind of fuel than in the past. Younger workers now bust their butts for managers who “give a s***” about them, in jobs that are meaningful, and for companies that value and trust them. It’s almost as if they want to be treated like…people! 😱
🔥Bottom line: Most people work hard for their Paychecks. Most people don’t mind working - it’s a good thing to be productive and get paid well for it! But different things motivate different people, and the culture of younger workers is very different than that of old timers, so the workplace needs to understand this and adapt.
What motivates you?
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