Are there other people out there who don’t want to ‘progress’ at work?!

[HerculesMulligann]

I’m 43, working in a policy related role for a charity, earning around £40k per year. I’m pretty happy with my job - I have some responsibility and autonomy but not so much that it stresses me out. I feel I’m paid a fair wage. My work-like balance is pretty good. I’m been in roles at this level for nearly 10 years.

The problem is I feel like there’s an implicit, and sometimes explicit, expectation that I should be aiming to progress to the next level. Many of my colleagues on the same grade (aged 28-35ish) are keen to take on more responsibilities and get promoted after a couple of years in the role. Which is great for them, and I’ve watched a number of them get promotions.

I’m confident in my own decision to stay at the level I’m currently at. Any promotion would mean taking on a role that has less of what I’m good at (in-depth project work, writing reports, nice mix of processy tasks and other tasks that use my brain more) and more of things I’m less keen on (loads of meetings, ‘big picture’ strategic thinking, the stress of more responsibility).

I guess I’m frustrated at this expectation that everyone must want to progress, and that if you don’t you’re a bit weird. At my most recent performance review I could tell that my line manager (mid-thirties, well on way with high flying career) was just a bit perplexed that I wouldn’t want to progress. And just to be clear I’m more than happy to take on new things, am open to change etc, I just don’t want to move up a level!

I think part of the issue is that senior management teams are always going to be full of people who did choose the ‘progression’ route, and so company cultures are geared up to see this as a norm. Whereas in my mind progression is something that should be an option, not an expectation.

It’s been this way at all of the workplaces I’ve worked at and I’m wondering if it’s a universal thing? Does anyone else feel like I do, and if so how have you managed the expectation that you will ‘progress’ to the next level? I fear the expectation that I should progress is only going to get worse as I get older!

@rookiemere

So instead I'm trying to move sideways, which I've taken to doing every couple of years so people don't take you for granted and you don't get roped into taking on more and more responsibility because you seem vaguely capable.

An excellent strategy, one which I feel I could have used better a couple of times in my career!

I’d be quite happy to step down to a more junior role. I really enjoy the ‘doing’ and not so much the strategy and planning. Unfortunately I can’t afford a £10k pay drop.

I’m old enough to know I don’t want a director level role, but it’s kind of expected that you want to progress.
My previous boss tried to motivate me with a ‘we’ll have a whole team of people underneath you’ and I was actually a bit horrified by the thought of it.

I work in universities, so the 'progression' is supposed to be PhD-> RA-> Lecturer ....-> Professor.

I never got above RA level. I have zero interest in lecturing much less needing to bring in £200k of grant money every year (Professor) & managing teams of people. I know literally dozens of RAs like me. Decades happily at this level. Some get to 'fellow' which is really just a lot better pay than RA. It does make job interviews a little odd, to be fair. It's nice to find something you enjoy & is satisfying.

Yanbu op, you sound very similar to me.

I'm currently at a level where I'm an expert in my field, a go to person and well thought of. I'm good at what I do, I've jumped up enough levels so I have a role with 'manager' in the title, I'm on a decent salary and benefits and with enough responsibility that my work is interesting and enjoyable but not overly difficult. But I'm a process manager and no direct downline.

I know what the next level is - and that's a £15k payrise but multiple meetings a day and implementation of new policies, creating campaigns and all the corporate game playing that comes with it.

Would love the money so I am sometimes tempted but I know I'd dislike the job.

@Dissimilitude moving around the organisation every couple of years is great and I'd highly recommend it. Although I don't want to be more senior, I do enjoy learning about different aspects of the business and refreshing my professional skills.
I think the issue is once someone has been in role for a few years it's natural for their line manager to expect more from them, even though they aren't a higher grade or being paid as such.

@Cooltalkin

There is a really good article by Lottie Jeffs on this in this months ‘Elle ‘

Is your ambition making you anxious? A new rebel army is seeking a smaller, happier, less performative existence...
interesting to me as about to leave a pressured job and will be looking in the future for something where I have time ‘ to smell the roses ‘

www.google.com/amp/s/www.elle.com/uk/life-and-culture/elle-voices/amp35854177/ambition-anxiety/

Thanks for this. Great article.

I'm similar to a lot of you, but the difference is that I'm not happy in my current role. And job hunting is tricky when you don't want to 'progress'.

I had been at the same level for nearly 20 years. Well happy at that level, no ambitions beyond doing a good job (sometimes a really awesome job). I was promoted and given a load of additional responsibilities including one that restricts my life significantly. I wish I just said "no thanks" even though I was never asked!!!

@Bargebill19 I suspect it's being done as a way of gently forcing me out of my "comfort zone" and into a new position. My manager is very big on development. What she's missing though is how much I have developed over the years in my own role. It's unrecognisable from when I started and I take a lot of credit for that. But as the years go by, she seems to overlook what I've taken on, as my job description hasn't changed. I think I'd be better off changing my job title rather than taking all my skills and experience elsewhere!

@SilverStory I agree with you about job hunting being really difficult when you don’t want to progress. A few years ago I applied for a role at a different organisation - it was pretty much a direct sideways move that would use many of my existing skills plus give me some new interesting elements. At the same time they were also recruiting someone at the next level up.

I got an interview, but in it the panel repeatedly asked me why I was applying for the role that was a sideways move, and not the one that would be a step up. I explained that I genuinely wanted the less senior role and was interested in lots of elements of that role but they all seemed bemused and obviously didn’t really get where I was coming from. The idea that I didn’t want to progress was something they just couldn’t get their heads round! Needless to say I came away from the interview thinking I wouldn’t be a good fit for the organisation, and (no surprise) I wasn’t offered the role anyway.

After the interview I looked at the LinkedIn profiles of some of the panel and they were all the kind of people who every 2-3 years moved a rung up the ladder.

I manage a team with a good mix of those who are ambitious and those who are not, I really appreciate those who are just there to get the job done. They stay longer, so less of a recruitment responsibility and are constantly building experience and knowledge. Those who are ambitious are fun to manage, but of course all my investment will soon be jetting off to pastures new!

I'm in the exact situation OP with the added pressure of being forced (pretty much) into an acting up role.
I'm applying for other jobs now, some of them sideways or even slightly downstream moves. I just don't want managerial responsibilities - I'm amazing at my job but I don't want to line manage others. I'm more effective and hands on the way I am.

Same as @crocodilescry I'm acting up and counting down the time until I can go back to my regular job. Progression isn't worth the mental health sacrifice.

Provided you're happy not getting pay rises, that's fine.

My organisation is really bad at managing and retaining people who don’t want to progress up through the organisation. I have progressed but it really annoys me that we don’t seem to be able to provide interesting and varied careers for people who aren’t just concerned with getting promoted as quickly as possible. We lose a lot of very capable people that way. So this discussion has been really helpful for me as I’m now convinced this is an area we need to do better at for lots of people and not just a few.

I’m the same. I could easily do my manager’s job, and I do when she is off, but I would hate having to deal with the internal politics and meeting-heavy nature of it on a permanent basis. I love all the technical aspects of what I do and wouldn’t like to lose that.

The problem is that the other person at my level (senior technical analyst) is also in the same position as me and is planning to stay there until he retires in about 6 years. So the other analysts in our team feel we are blocking them from progression. The company won’t create more senior technical roles so they invariably leave which makes my job harder as I am constantly training/supporting new people.

Well I'm very hopeful that my interview for a sideways role yesterday went well and I can escape from having greatness thrust upon me in current one. Fingers crossed.

I'm the same, I have been nodding along to many of these posts. I've had managers that have clearly been promoted despite them having no interest or aptitude for management but excellent technical skills. I've had managers who have been promoted because they are ambitious but have weak technical skills and resent the longer term members of staff having vastly more in-depth knowledge of the work. I've also worked with many who have managed to stay just below management level, some have managed to keep growing their technical skills at the same time as utilising their great experience and mentoring junior staff, but some have been plodding along, resistant to any changes, especially IT related and have been very frustrating to work with.

I've muddled through myself. I've ducked promotions beyond team leader level by either sideways moves or getting made redundant and am now (in my 50s) back in a purely technical role. I am always keen to keep growing my technical expertise to keep myself fresh, I keep CPD records and look out for areas that I can grow my experience in.

I'm like this. Late 40s and had a much more 'high flying' career in my twenties and thirties, changed industry at 42 and took a 50% pay cut, and then dropped some hours.

I think I'm quite lucky in that my role within our company is quite niche, and there is a huge step up to my boss's job which I don't have the skills for anyway, there isn't really a career path as such for me to follow unless I wanted to switch to a slightly different team and take on more client management responsibility and potentially manage a small team.

The business wouldn't want to lose me out of the role I'm in, and I've made it clear that I have no interest in moving teams. I'm always happy to take on new projects / responsibilities etc and it's always nice to get a pay rise or bonus, but other than that I have no career aspirations as such, I just want to do a good job, get paid, and not have work encroach too much outside 9 - 5. I'm really lucky that my boss has a similar mindset, she's only a few years off retirement and is looking to drop some hours herself. I will have to reevaluate my position when she goes though as I may not be as lucky with a new manager!

I've recently got a promo and have no desire to go any higher, as that means I'd be at the risk of managing people / sitting in more meetings / more expectations / training people etc. I am just trying to bide my time on my current wage, over pay my mortgage and get out the rat race and just get a local role don't something less stressful. I don't think its wrong of me to want to do that and just take a breath, I've studied since school (31 now) some form of qualification and I want to focus on me now.

I have found my people. Totally agree with you.
I have worked abroad in countries where most people work to live and it was just lovely to work in an environment where noone had any interest on progressing

I'm with you! I earn 28k pro rata but only work 2.5 compressed days a week. My working week ends on a Wednesday. My husband earns quite a bit more but works flexibly from home.

I enjoy my job but have no desire to move to the next level up which would involve managing up to 28 people (I currently manage none but could do in theory if asked). I never take work home or expect to be contacted about work at home. I like the contact with customers and do not care about ridiculous management policies which I would have to pretend to care about at the next level up.

My boss thinks this is very odd and questions me about it at every review I have. I feel like saying to her that her life looks like hell and there's no way I would put myself through that for an extra 3k a year (if full time).

We don't actually need the money either so why would I stress myself out?

I don't get this obsession with progression either. I've never been much interested in moving up the corporate ladder, but that is absolutely not the same as saying I'm happy to stagnate! Personal progression is very important to me in the sense that I need to feel that I am learning, developing new skills and being challenged in my role. It's very important to me feel properly remunerated and valued by my employer. If I can honestly say that those goals have been achieved, then I am generally happy. I simply have no desire for a leadership role.

But to my mind, companies need people like that! Not everyone can be a leader, but if you have a workforce who all share a common leadership goal, inevitably some of them will be disappointed in their ambitions and become disgruntled enough to move on.

Very short sighted outlook, in my opinion.

It's because content people are seen as lazy, just want to come in and get paid and go home, and overtime they see you as a pain as you are in the way of changes. I am happy to progress for payrises etc and change my job about. I just have no desire to sit in committees/board rooms all day long.

I’m so glad you started this thread, I feel exactly the same. I am at a similar level to the op. My role can be challenging, but is rarely stressful and I don’t have to manage people. The next level up is quite a big increase in terms of both pay and responsibility. My colleague at work is very money motivated and moved to this higher grade. He’s now very stressed and unhappy at work but still continually sends me job adverts for roles at the same level and just doesn’t get it when i say I’m not interested.

I've been thinking similar but on a lot less. Considering changing role to just an entry level HCA which is minimum wage but wouldn't want to progress to life and death responsibility of a nurse. Just want to have a job I feel proud of that can help someone. Problem is.. I agree with all of your comments but you are all talking being settled at a lot more money and I don't know if I should really be aiming to be in mid 30s on only £18k...