Four warning signs that you may be in a dead-end job
The balance of power in the workplace has begun to shift subtly from employers to employees, resulting in what the Harvard Business Review dubs a “candidate-driven” economy.
That means if you’re a young professional unhappy with what you’re doing, you’re in a better position than ever to make a move.
But it’s not always obvious what a bad job looks like if you haven’t been in the workforce very long, said Catherine Tinsley, a Georgetown University management professor who researches workplace dynamics.
Women, especially, are known to stay in work environments that aren’t conducive to career advancement, she said, because they are more conservative about taking job risks.
Tinsley says that certain company policies can signal that advancement will be difficult for the average employee — and for female employees in particular. Here are Tinsley’s four things to watch for:
One-off job negotiations
Many firms have annual performance reviews only during set windows when an employee can seek a promotion (just when everyone else is asking for one), hurting your odds of getting ahead, Tinsley said.
Create your own timeline by meeting with your superior every quarter to alleviate the pressure of an annual performance review and help you correct mistakes sooner, she adds.
If the boss doesn’t give you what you’re asking for, have an exit strategy.
An example: If you ask for a promotion and get turned down, ask your boss for two to three concrete examples that would make her say “yes” after a set time frame (three months is a good benchmark, she said).
Salaries are mismanaged
Salary transparency can be a tricky path for companies for many reasons, such as disclosing bonus compensation, said Tinsley. But if you know that you’re being paid less than a colleague who does the same work, it’s worth asking your superior about the disconnect before growing resentful or wasting your time.
When your company isn’t transparent about its salary policies, it’s not just unfair — it could mean you’re in a dead-end job.
Employees who aren’t aware of their worth, and can’t quantify what more responsibility equates to in a salary, are less likely to advance.
Board hired from outside
The leadership board of any company is a good litmus test for how balanced the company is in gender and race, said Tinsley, but it’s also an important indication of whether a company encourages upward mobility within its staff. “Lots of companies like to tout women who are on executive boards,” said Tinsley. “But did those women rise through the ranks of the company, or were they plucked from other firms?”
If a company’s board is comprised of outside hires, the first step is to investigate the underlying reasons by asking your managers if they notice the trend. With a little digging, you can find out how your company is cultivating young women.
Few use flextime options
Offering such benefits as extended family leave and the ability to work remotely is in vogue at firms such as Netflix. But taking advantage of that freedom can hurt you if no one else at the company is doing so, said Tinsley. If your colleagues get more face time with managers and are better equipped to take on work by simply being in the office, those work-from-home policies could be working against you. Women are traditionally more likely than men to choose to work from home, Tinsley said, which puts them at a disadvantage if they’re being compared to men who are more visible to supervisors. Plus, a work environment where there is an unspoken penalty for taking advantage of benefits is a culture of inequality, she adds.