Is lack of career progression the main reason you quit your job?

16 Jun 2015

Salary is way down the list of professional incentives according to a new report, with career progression the driving force for people willing to stay on in roles.

When that is taken away, it seems, we’re far more likely to walk away from our jobs, claims a new Robert Walters report.

Almost half of those surveyed (44pc) cited this as their main concern, with the findings consistent from country to country. Similarly, 11pc were concerned with salary issues, a figure that stayed fairly static on a country-by-country basis.

Ireland mirrored these results, with 47pc of professionals prepared to move jobs as a result of poor career progression and 13pc as a result of poor salary review/bonus.

“Contrary to popular belief, salary is not the main factor in retaining staff. If people feel there is little or no progression in their current company, they will look elsewhere in spite of a generous remuneration package,” explains Louise Campbell, MD at Robert Walters Ireland.

Why would you quit your job?

“In order to attract and retain top talent, it is essential for organisations to have a defined career path for individuals in order to improve their employer brand and become an employer of choice.

“As market conditions improve and career opportunities open up, employees will be far less inclined to stay in a role which does not offer clear and measurable progression.”

Other gripes were difficult managers (21pc), company culture (8pc), personal reasons (7pc) and difficult colleagues (4pc).

Almost 6,700 professionals across Belgium, France, Germany, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland were surveyed on a variety of employment related issues, including working habits, work/life balance, job satisfaction, motivation and mentoring.

Promotion image, via Shutterstock

Gordon Hunt
By Gordon Hunt

Gordon Hunt joined Silicon Republic in October 2014 as a journalist. He spends most of his time avoiding conversations about music, appreciating even the least creative pun and rueing the day he panicked when meeting Paul McGrath. His favourite thing on the internet is the ‘Random Article’ link on Wikipedia.

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