Sarah Green Carmichael, Columnist

Overdue Promotions Are Driving Away Good Employees

By the time a new role or title is awarded, some workers already have one foot out the door.

October 30, 2023 at 1:00 PM UTC

Sarah Green Carmichael is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and editor. Previously, she was an executive editor at Harvard Business Review.

Some employers make it hard for talented workers to stick around.
Photographer: DNY59/E+/Getty Images

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So, you finally got that promotion you pushed for. What’s next? A new job, according to a recent study by the ADP Research Institute.

According to the payroll services provider’s report, which examined 1.2 million workers in the US between 2019 and 2022, 29% of employees quit their employer within the month after getting their first promotion at the company, compared with only 18% of similar, non-promoted workers, a gap that endured for about six months. The effect was especially strong for managers.