While promotions are a mechanism organizations have to inspire loyalty from employees, they may also result in people quitting their jobs, The Wall Street Journal reported Sept. 6.
The publication cites new data from payroll-services provider ADP that shows that within a month after their first promotion, 29 percent of people had left their employer.
"Had these people not been promoted, more of them might have stayed — only 18 percent would have moved on, according to our estimate," ADP wrote in a September research report. "Promotion, in other words, led to a nearly two-thirds increase in the risk a person would leave."
Researchers also found that the risk of an employee leaving is most pronounced within the first six months after a promotion.
Additionally, they found that people working jobs that require little to no training or education were nearly six times more likely to leave in the first month after their promotion than they would have been if they had not received their first promotion.
The research examined job histories of more than 1.2 million U.S. workers working for companies that employed at least 1,000 people. Researchers specifically looked at 2019 through 2022.
Recruiters and hiring managers told The Wall Street Journal that employees leave after promotions for many reasons. Those reasons include the company not providing training and assistance the employee needs; the employee had already started looking for a new job before the promotion; and outside recruiters noticing a job update on LinkedIn.
Read the full article here.