Benefits of Promotion within a Professional Services Firm

Abstract

This study examined perceived benefits of promotion by employees in a single large professional services firm. Women and men (N = 1608) completed questionnaires anonymously. Respondents indicated the three main benefits of promotion to the next higher organizational level from a list of eight. Few differences between women and men and between organizational levels were found. The most common benefits were increased salary, personal satisfaction, and more interesting work; working with more senior managers and partners and higher status were the least common benefits of promotion. Possible reasons for these ratings as well as implications for career-development management and organization are offered.