Promotions are last century

“This means we can all just stop talking about promotions like they matter. A promotion has meaning when someone is moving up the corporate ladder at such a slow pace that every small step is grounds for celebration.

But there are no more ladders because no one stays long enough at a company to get up the whole ladder. And even if someone did try to climb, they’d probably be laid off, outsourced or offshored before they got to the top.

So what is the point of a promotion? Titles do not matter because they are accoutrements of hierarchy in a nonhierarchical workforce. And no one cares about getting more responsibly that implicitly comes with a promotion, they want the right kind of responsibility – which means interesting work and a chance to expand one’s skills set.

So all that’s left to justify continuing to talk about promotions is getting a raise, which is hardly a notable event.”

—From The New American Dream by @PenelopeTrunk

Promotions are last century