Do You Know the Reasons Millennials Turn Down Leadership Positions?
They accept career growth, but not leadership positions. According to Visier's research, it seems that millennials and Gen Z have other priorities than dedicating their lives to work. Read on to find out what reasons are driving them to do so.
Employers should understand that the days when their workers had a career goal of advancing to a leadership position are a thing of the past. Now it seems that millennials (people born from 1981 to 1996) have other priorities and don't want to be leaders.
Why Do Millennials Turn Down Leadership Positions?
They Protect Their Free Time
Even when it is time for them to become leaders, so many of them refuse these leadership positions because they choose to prioritize work-life balance. A survey by Grafton Recruitment found that only a third of millennials are willing to work more than 8 hours a day and only 8% would spend more than 10 hours a day at work. Of course, they want adequate pay for this. But many times even that is not worth sacrificing their free time for work at the expense of their physical and mental health. They want to travel or be with their families.
Fear of Responsibility and Stress
Millennials are afraid of increased stress, pressure and are not interested in working overtime, much less having responsibility. Their priority is not work, but work-life balance. In doing so, they don't want their work life to interfere with their personal one.
Work Is Not the Purpose of Life for Them
Work used to be a hobby for people, many times we met workaholics who worked day and night and enjoyed it. Today that is no longer the case. For millennials, work is not the meaning of life. They just see work and managing people as a burden rather than an opportunity to develop themselves.
Jiří Halbrštát claims that: “More than a leadership position, a team, an inspiring environment and gathering experience is key for the young generation. Their needs are better met by horizontal progression in the company, i.e. moving to other departments or getting involved in different projects, than by vertical progression.”
Many young people do not want to be in leadership positions because they suspect it will interfere with their private lives. Promotion used to be something that people were willing to push for and work hard for, but that is often no longer the case. Family, friends, personal growth and mental health are more important to them than becoming a leader.
Don't forget to subscribe to our newsletter to get more tips and advice from different areas of the business environment.
[newsletter]
