Who wouldn’t want a promotion, particularly to a role with leadership responsibilities? It’s hard to argue against more power and more pay. And indeed, promotions to managerial roles are typically associated with an increase in job satisfaction. Management scholars and practitioners have long argued that employees value promotions not only for the accompanying boost in financial compensation but also because managerial positions offer more authority and opportunities for impactful work. Managers also have more job autonomy and decision power, as well as higher occupational prestige. All these factors, research has shown, have a positive impact on job satisfaction.
Research: Becoming a Manager Increases Men’s Job Satisfaction, But Not Women’s
Evidence from 10 years of data and thousands of promotions.
November 09, 2017
Summary.
Who wouldn’t want a promotion, particularly to a role with leadership responsibilities? Managers have more job autonomy and decision power, as well as higher occupational prestige. All these factors, research has shown, have a positive impact on job satisfaction. But promotion to management isn’t the same for men and women, new research shows. An examination of 10 years of information about thousands of men and women promoted to management found a gap in job satisfaction between promoted women and men. There was no statistically significant gap prior to the promotion to management, but the gap became significant at the time of the promotion and grew larger during the post-promotion period.
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Accelerate your career with Harvard ManageMentor®. HBR Learning’s online leadership training helps you hone your skills with courses like Diversity, Inclusion, and Belonging. Earn badges to share on LinkedIn and your resume. Access more than 40 courses trusted by Fortune 500 companies.
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