Forty-one percent of professionals would rather get promotions without people management

Forty-one percent of professionals prefer promotions into more senior roles that do not require managing people, according to a Robert Half report. The HR consulting firm’s survey polled 835 professionals in Canada.

Younger generational cohorts were less likely to want promotions that required people management. Fifty percent of Gen Z preferred a promotion without people management, followed by 42% of millennials, 44% of Gen Xers, and 19% of boomers.

Of the professionals who preferred to remain individual contributors, over half (51%) said maintaining work-life balance would be easier in a role without people management. Half also said they find more satisfaction in doing hands-on work that in managing colleagues, while under 20% cited a lack of relevant leadership skills.

Implicit in the generational bent of the data, however, is the reticence of younger people to want to manage (especially people older than them) and deal with the uncomfortable dynamics therein. Taking this poll with Gen Z thirty years down the line will necessarily change perspectives on people management, as age (and experience) are a necessary part of the organizational hierarchy.

Of the 28% of workers who said they preferred promotions into people management roles, the top reason (55%) was so they could be a mentor and leader. Other top reasons for preferring this kind of role included the belief that it held a better possibility for swifter career advancement (45%) and that it was the best way to make more money (32%).