If you were offered a promotion at work, would you risk career suicide and turn it down?
If you’re like me, you’ve heard over and over again about how important it is to build your career to maximize your earning potential. Turning down career advancement opportunities severely limits, perhaps even eliminates, your advancement opportunities. I can vouch for that. If you say ‘No’ too many times, eventually they stop asking.
When my kids were roughly 6 and 8, I was offered the supervisor position in the application support group that I worked in. After careful consideration, I respectfully declined. My ‘official’ reasoning for not taking the promotion was I felt I was more valuable to the team in my current role. Management agreed and we all moved on with the status quo.
I’d like to say that this was the end of it, but it wasn’t. Every 18 to 24 months management would approach me to gauge my interest in a low-level management position in the company I work for. Each and every time I would respectfully decline and tell them I like doing what I’m doing and I provide more value to the company in my current role rather than moving into management.
I’m happy to report that, as of about 4 years ago, they seem to have realized that I really don’t want to move to a management role. Mission Accomplished!!!
Why turn down a promotion?
There are several reasons why I turned those management positions down.
- I wouldn’t be a very good supervisor. I’ve had some experience in the supervisor role having filled in for the existing supervisor while they were on ‘loan’ to a local charity organization for a few months. Let me tell you, I hated it. Which meant I avoided performing that role as much as possible. Which isn’t good! I learned from that experience that I didn’t find the supervisor role to be rewarding at all.
- When I said I like what I was doing, I was serious. I like analyzing a computer program. I enjoy trying to figure out why it’s doing what it’s doing and changing it to meet the users’ needs. It’s fun. It’s kind of like a riddle, crossed with a brain teaser, mixed with looking for a needle in a haystack!
- At my company, low-level management is expendable. I’d been around long enough (20+ years) to know that whenever costs needed cut, low-level management was usually where they started. Where I work they typically don’t lay off people, but I’ve seen layers of management removed and the individuals moved to other departments. While better than looking for a new job, ending up in a department that I didn’t care for was not appealing to me.
- The work/life balance for management is different than what is expected from an individual contributor. Yes, I could have made more money. But that didn’t matter that much to me. I made enough money for us to get by. Our bills got paid every month, the lights stayed on and we were able to save a decent percentage. Did we really need the extra money? Sure, it would have been nice. It was more important to me that I have the freedom to take off and spend time with my family doing the things we enjoy.
- The only pros I could come up with for taking the promotion were the money and the nifty cool new title! Taking the job for the extra money is understandable if it provided the same level of satisfaction, but for me, it didn’t. Taking a job for a nifty cool title would be making decisions solely based on the benefit to my ego.
Do I regret it?
The simple answer to that question is NO!
If I had taken the management position there would have been a significant increase in expectations from me in regards to my time commitment. Expectations that would have interfered with my ability to spend time with my family.
I’ve always known that the free time I had was worth a whole lot more to me than any bump in my paycheck could make up for. Recent events have only reinforced that belief. With one kid recently leaving home, I really wish I’d had more time than I did. Time with family and friends is priceless and should be treasured.
While a bump in pay all those years ago may have pushed us to the FI point by now, it would have come at the expense of sacrificing a lot of the family experiences I’ve had along the way. I value those experiences more than anything. I can’t imagine giving them up.
Dare to be different.
Upper management was shocked when I turned down the invitation to join the management team. Conventional wisdom says to take the promotion and money when it’s offered. I know that is what they expected of me. I also knew that rejecting their offer could have negative consequences. So be it.
Letting others expectations of you drive your decisions is a sure way to end up in a position you hate. Dare to defy expectations. Choose your own path based upon what you value most in your life. What others expect of you should not be a concern.
I’m not saying that I’ve turned down every promotion that’s come along and I’m not suggesting that you should. A promotion was offered about 10 years ago that I did accept. The new position was essentially the same job (with the same expectations) I was already doing, but with a nice bump in pay. I could honestly look at that promotion and not see any real downside. There was no real sacrifice of my family time or the amount of satisfaction I derived from my work.
What I am saying is, when faced with similar decisions in your career be willing to do the unexpected, be wary of your ego and make sure you consider the expectations that would be placed on you. Make sure you are comfortable with the expectations and they don’t conflict with what is important to you in life. Be true to yourself and you’ll be much happier in the long run!
B.C. Krygowski says
Great post. It’s important to have your values straight in your head when management approaches with these kinds of offers.
Alan says
Thanks for the comment B.C.
I agree it’s important to have your values straight in your head. If your values aren’t clear in your head, you run the risk of making poor career decisions when these opportunities present themselves.