Why getting a promotion isn’t always the best thing for you

As much as we like to stay at home in our pajamas all day, going to work with great passion and enthusiasm to do good things is also just as satisfying. You feel a sense of triumphant personal achievement, and what’s more, when you feel appreciated and are rewarded for your successes, it makes all the hard work totally worth it.

One way your good work can be rewarded is being promoted. Climbing your way up the professional ladder takes a lot of focus, commitment, and diligence with the work you do, so a promotion can be a great pay off in the long run.

However, with great power comes great responsibility, and sometimes taking a promotion isn’t the best move to make. Let’s take a look at some of its disadvantages.

You have longer hours

First things first, you’ll be spending a lot more time at the office whether you like it or not. As someone with greater responsibility, it’s likely you’ll have a much greater workload, so expect to be working harder than you were before. If your promotion means you are now in charge of people below you, then that also means you’ll be responsible for making sure everyone is doing their job. You know what that means? You’ll be the last one in the office turning the lights off at the end of a long, hard, stressful day.

The pay may not be worth it

Look. Let’s be real. Money does indeed make the world go round, and the main reason you’re probably going for that promotion is that it pays more money. Who doesn’t want extra dollars in their wallet? Well, if you are offered a promotion, then you must make sure the extra cash on payday is making the extra work worth it at the end of the month. Don’t let your additional grafting and exceptional skills be taken advantage of. Work out whether it’s going to be worthwhile.

You may have to do things you don’t want to

A promotion probably means that you’re now ‘above’ people you once considered peers in the professional hierarchy. Sometimes, that can feel pretty sucky. It means that the jobs of other people are now in your newly formed hands. Are you ready to have subordinates? You will need to be empathetic, accountable, reliable, and commanding. Plus, firing someone is never a pleasant job…

You can’t switch off

Finding the right balance between your work life and your personal life is never easy, so expect this to get even harder after a promotion. More responsibility generally means more stress, so make sure you’re ready for a life where you may need to keep your phone switched on during evenings and weekends. The boss always needs to reachable.

It may not be what you expected

Sometimes, a promotion means the role you have taken on requires you to act in a certain way that wouldn’t usually come naturally to you. But don’t let any job change you as a person. Be prepared for the promotion not to be what you expected it to be. Also be ready for being forced to work amicably with people you don’t necessarily want to.

Don’t let all of these negative concerns bother you too much. If you have already been offered a promotion, then congratulations! This could be the start of new wonderful beginnings for you and your career. But it is also essential that you take a second to consider what challenges and obstacles are going to come your way that you might not have thought about. Be sensible and be prepared.