Why Are Newly Promoted Employees Quitting Their Jobs?

Promotions are commonly career milestones that are celebrated widely, posted on social media, and viewed as a mark of career achievement in one’s life. But in reality, we are beginning to witness the very opposite.

A recent study has uncovered a startling truth about newly promoted managers: nearly one-third of employees quit their roles after being promoted internally, compared to 18% of employees who have not been promoted, according to ADP’s findings.

Why is this the case and what are the implications for new managers and their employers?

Inappropriate Pay

Sometimes employers may decide to formally or informally promote in job title and responsibilities only, without ensuring that the salary is commensurate to the newly imposed role. This usually occurs when an employer has a talent gap for a manager post that needs to be filled urgently, so they will quickly shift an employee from a high-performing individual contributor to a managerial role without adequate resources being allocated to that individual.

Annie Rosencrans, Director of People and Culture at HiBob, explains: “Some companies promote people without giving them a pay bump, which often results in really frustrated and resentful individuals who realize that their workload has increased, but their take home pay has not changed. It’s a not a new thing, but it can be very company specific. For example, there could be budgetary constraints, so they’ll give a very small bump like a 5% increase rather than 15%. And that doesn’t usually sit well, especially if the employee’s workload is increasing by 25%.”

Lack Of Support

The first 90 days in a new role are the most crucial. Research from Harvard Business School shows that this critical period determines one’s success and longevity in the role, depending on the level of support received and the work put in by the individual to make it a success. For example, both employers and promoted employees could check in at the 30-day and 90-day mark respectively, to identify and assess any areas for improvement and support, and to create solutions that will nip any performance issues or burnout in the bud.

Lack Of Training

Employers can and should build and incorporate management training programs; these can be created internally or in collaboration with external training experts. For example, Rosencrans shares how at her company, she encourages and has initiated targeted coaching time to review expectations for new managers, and live training to handle the trickier aspects of management over the course of their roles.

Imposter Syndrome

A recent study shows that as much as 70% of managers and high-performers experience impostor syndrome at work, which is the feeling of inadequacy and not internally appreciating one’s external successes. This is one primary concern for newly promoted employees, who are forced to make a mindset shift when entering into management meetings or associating with their peers. If you are a recently promoted hire and are tempted to ask yourself, “Do I deserve to be here?,” take time to celebrate your accomplishment of being promoted, note your feelings, and focus on the facts that demonstrate that you have earned this position.

For employers, Rosencrans says, “Validation from stakeholders is important. Employers should really make sure to acknowledge the promotion in multiple forums when the promotion is made official. Announce it and provide an explanation of all the employee’s achievements that enabled and supported their growth within the company.”

Burnout

For many new managers, impostor syndrome, the desire to prove worthy of the promotion, and fear of being viewed as incapable in addition to a lack of preparedness or full grasp of what the role entails, leads inevitably to burnout. For ambitious younger professionals, Rosencrans believes that they are more likely to experience this challenge the most.

“With Gen Z for example, there’s more of a focus on work/life balance,” she says. “Their work is not meant to take over their lives. And when you’re promoted into a high impact role, that pendulum might swing a little bit more towards the work. So that comes back to employers understanding their team members and their career ambitions, and understanding how much of their time do they want to dedicate to work?”

As a recently promoted manager, if you are willing to temporarily at least, prioritize more of your time into adjusting to and developing yourself for your new role, ensure that you set yourself realistic goals for what you intend to accomplish for your professional development as well as the tasks related to your role. Mastering time management and smart multitasking skills, while taking breaks at regular intervals for relaxation will prove beneficial to you and help you relish your role.

While there are certainly situations in which it would be unwise to not quit after taking up a management post, there are precautions that can be taken on both sides to ensure that both employee and employer are happy with overall performance of the new role. Through careful planning, adequate support, and training, the rate of internal hires quitting can be reduced and the next generation of new managers and leaders can work effectively without burning out.