‘Conscious unbossing’ explained: Why some workers are saying no to promotions
Getting a promotion is often seen as the natural next step in a person's career. After all, a bigger title and a higher salary sound like the ultimate reward for all the hard work you've put in.
However, a growing trend has seen some employees choose not to climb the corporate ladder and stay in their current positions. Dubbed "conscious unbossing," the practice involves deliberately turning down promotions or leadership roles in favor of staying in positions with fewer responsibilities.
But why has the idea of becoming the boss stopped being the dream? PhilSTAR L!fe spoke with an HR expert to find out what’s driving some employees to turn down promotions, and whether choosing not to move up the career ladder is necessarily a bad thing.
Choosing to stay put
Jonane Quiambao, a human resources business partner, said that there are many reasons why some workers are not so keen on advancing their careers.
"Work-life balance is a major factor. Promotions often come with more responsibilities, longer hours, more meetings, greater accountability, and sometimes the expectation to be available beyond regular working hours. Some employees may decide that the additional responsibility isn’t worth the impact on their personal life," she said.
According to her, one of the biggest changes that come with moving into a managerial or leadership position is accountability.
"As an individual contributor, you’re primarily responsible for your own output. As a manager, you’re also responsible for leading, developing, supporting, and managing the performance of other people," she explained.
As a manager, you now have to deal with difficult conversations, conflict resolution, performance issues, employee concerns, hiring decisions, stakeholder management, and sometimes unpopular decisions.
"Management requires communication, delegation, coaching, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and accountability," Quiambao added. "You may also have less flexibility and more meetings because your decisions and availability can affect an entire team."
"Being good at your job doesn’t necessarily mean you want to become a manager. Some employees prefer to remain specialists or individual contributors and continue developing their expertise."
Compensation also matters, as she noted that employees may question whether the promotion is really worth it if the increase in salary is small compared to the additional responsibilities.
Ups and downs of saying no to a promotion
For Quiambao, saying no to a promotion shouldn't automatically be interpreted as a lack of ambition.
"Employees should be able to make that decision without automatically being labeled as unambitious. A promotion should be an opportunity, not an obligation," she stressed.
"If someone values their current role, flexibility, manageable workload, and personal time, staying where they are can be a perfectly valid career decision. They can still grow by developing their expertise without taking on responsibilities they don’t want," she added.
However, the drawback to this is that opportunities may not always come back at the same time or in the same form.
"Repeatedly declining promotions could also limit exposure to leadership opportunities," Quiambao said.
What employers can do
Since taking on leadership roles is no longer everyone's goal, this could pose a problem for companies, as they may struggle to fill managerial positions or build a strong pipeline of future leaders. So what can employers do to keep moving forward?
Quiambao highlighted that companies should first understand the reason instead of assuming the employee lacks ambition.
"Repeatedly declining promotions can actually be valuable feedback. It may show that employees are happy in their current roles, but it can also reveal that the company’s definition of career growth is too focused on promotions and people management," she said.
One thing that an organization can do is to create alternative career paths, such as specialist, technical, project-based, or subject-matter-expert tracks, which can allow employees to grow in skills, compensation, scope, and impact without necessarily managing people.
"Companies should also look at what their promotions actually involve. If employees consistently decline because the role means significantly more workload, stress, or after-hours availability without enough compensation, support, or autonomy, that’s something the organization should examine," she said.
"Sometimes the issue isn’t that employees don’t want to grow. They simply don’t want the version of growth that the company is offering," she added.
Is moving up right for you?
For those unsure whether to say yes to the offer, Quiambao advised that you should not make the decision based on the title alone.
"Look beyond the salary and understand the workload, working hours, responsibilities, decision-making authority, team size, expectations, manager, and development opportunities," she said.
It's also important to ask: “If the salary increase were removed from the equation, would I still want this job?”
"If yes, the role itself may be aligned with where you want your career to go. If the only attractive parts are the title or salary, take a closer look at what you’re actually signing up for," Quiambao said.
You should also not be afraid to negotiate by asking about compensation, flexibility, support, training, transition periods, or alternative ways to grow without immediately taking on people-management responsibilities.
"Ultimately, career growth should be intentional. The goal isn’t to keep climbing simply because there is another step above you. The goal is to build a career that fits the kind of professional and personal life you actually want," Quiambao underscored.
