Gen X Women Have Zero Interest In Being Promoted For 5 Absolutely Legit Reasons
wavebreakmedia / Shutterstock If given the opportunity, most people would like to move up to a more advanced position in their career. Reaching management level usually pays better than being a standard employee, so many workers strive for promotions in order to reap the benefits they believe will come with a better job.
That isn't true for everyone, though. In particular, many Gen X women are now pushing back against the strides their mothers made, and would prefer not to be promoted from the positions they hold now. They’ve already been working hard and raising kids for the past several decades, and they now have several genuinely legitimate reasons for not wanting a more important title and a bit of a raise.
Gen X women have basically zero interest in being promoted for these seriously legit reasons
1. They want to spend time with their kids
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As people get older, their priorities usually change. Most people become less interested in making money and climbing up the social ladder. They’re more concerned about spending time with the people they love.
Gen X is now between the ages of 45 and 61, so they’re starting to get to the point in their lives where family becomes a bigger priority. They might have already had kids who they didn’t get to spend much time with when they were growing up because they had to work.
At this point in their lives, they’d rather spend time with their adult kids and possibly their grandkids as well. That's far more fulfilling to them than making a tiny bit more money in a better position.
2. They're comfortable with their financial status
If a Gen X woman was really concerned about making more money, she probably would have already switched jobs. They're not solely focused on making money now because they’ve become at least somewhat comfortable with their financial situation. If they weren’t, they’d probably have started seeking a promotion years ago.
Gen X women are still interested in having cool experiences or fun trips, but they don’t necessarily need a promotion for that. These women have worked their whole lives, so they’ll have more spending money than most female Gen Z workers. They don’t always need a promotion to fund those experiences. It would only take away from the time they have to do them.
3. They’re already thinking about retirement
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Older Gen X women are reaching retirement age, and many have already started thinking about their plans for the second half of their life. A promotion would just mess up that plan.
When people get promoted, they’re typically expected to take on more responsibilities than they did before. Gen X women don’t want extra work because some of them are already starting to close the chapter on their professional lives. They don’t see the point in taking on a position that could potentially bring them a lot more success because they don’t want to work for longer than it’s necessary.
They want to get away from long hours working and the stress of their jobs that they’ve felt for years. Making more money isn’t worth giving up the rest of their lives for.
4. They're tired of dealing with misogyny
Historically, women have been treated pretty unfairly in the workplace. When Gen X women were starting work, the glass ceiling was still in place in many arenas, so many female Gen X workers experienced at least a degree of discrimination during their years as employees. Things are better today, but the workplace still isn’t completely balanced when it comes to gender.
Women still tend to be paid less and frequently experience disrespect from their male coworkers. Some Gen X women don’t want a promotion because they don’t want to deal with men questioning whether they’re worthy of their new position. They’ve dealt with enough of that throughout their career, and they're not willing to put up with it anymore.
5. They're used to being loyal to the company they work for
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For Gen X, company loyalty was one of the best ways to find success. People who stayed at one company for years had better chances of getting promoted. While it was smart professionally, it also helped them enjoy their working environment. Throughout their years there, Gen X women made strong friendships with their coworkers and their bosses. They learned exactly how their company functioned and the best ways to get everything done. Now, companies generally don’t keep people on their teams for as long.
Gen X women aren’t used to companies cycling through their workers. They feel discouraged if they have to continuously apply for new jobs. Even if there’s a possibility of them getting a promotion at another company, they probably don’t want it. Then they'd have to make new work friends and learn the different ways that company gets things done.
Lily Bell is a college student studying English and Publications who covers relationships, mental health, and personal narratives surrounding the human experience.
