The top of the Kiwi ladder is looking a little lonely as fewer workers across various generations show interest in advancing their careers.
Employment agency Frog Recruitment conducted a poll in March, asking 1,035 New Zealand workers about their primary work motivations and their willingness to climb the career ladder.
18% of workers aged 20–35 are putting their career ambitions first. Surprisingly, however, 80% of workers between the ages of 35 and 50 reported being content not to pursue career advancement, despite being “only midway through their working lives.”
“People can become ‘competent complacent’ in their job. They may have been in their role for a long time and are very good at it, but they may be stale in their work and have stopped exploring new ways of achieving outcomes because they feel they have done it all before. They are settled into the status quo,” Shannon Barlow, the Managing Director of Frog Recruitment, says.
Barlow also emphasised that reluctance to progress can lead to workforce issues.
“Less experienced team members are blocked from moving up the ladder into the roles occupied by the Competent Complacent, which can drive them to look outside their organisation for a better role or make a move across the ditch to Australia,” she added.
Moreover, the poll revealed that for every 20- to 35-year-old worker who wishes they were on a faster track to promotion, 82% of their peers care more about other work perks than the career ladder. Many people in this age bracket perceive the career ladder to cause more work stress, more burden, undesired competition with colleagues, and far beyond the comfort zone, which is not for everyone.
“The last decade has shown us that achieving a healthy work-life balance will reduce burnout and improve the productivity of our workforce. Employers have never been more tuned in to offering work flexibility to achieve these better mental health outcomes for their people,” Barlow stated.
However, it’s not solely the young people. In fact, 90% of Kiwi workers over the age of 50 admit that career climbing is not their primary work motivation, compared with 87% of 35- to 50-year-olds and 82% of 20- to 35-year-olds.
“Most people are very satisfied knowing they’re doing a great job, and many don’t aspire to be managers or to join the C-suite.”
“A high-performing team includes different people with different perspectives, personalities, and personal aspirations. Recognising work satisfaction means different things to different people is the strength of a successful team.”