ALT-1 How does the Economy Impact Career Advancement
Career advancement can be interpreted in many different ways and it depends on the individual's belief as to what constitutes career advancement. Thus, some may believe that rising the corporate ladder to the highest promotable level as career advancement while for some being recognized for what he or she does at the job means career advancement. In any event, a person begins to think of career advancement from the day that he or she takes over a probable career. However, with the recent downturn in the economy, many people lost their careers while others experienced a halt in their career advancement. This article will therefore discuss how the economy can impact the career advancement of such a person.
Firstly, it is necessary to understand what contributes tocareer advancementin times of better economic stability. Thus, for an employee, support from the employer by means of vocational training, professional training, scholarships as well as through field visits to other countries where the same tasks are being carried out in a more efficient manner would be absolutely vital for a seamless career advancement. At the same time, support and knowledge gathered from colleagues, managers as well as from the bosses themselves would also help a person to develop his or her career.
In addition, companies should offer its employees the ability to gain ground in the corporate ladder through adequate compensation based on performance and the earnings of the company. Thus, the employees would be motivated to perform well to reach the targets that they have been assigned or even do better in order to gain recognition as well as better remuneration along with a promotion from time to time.
However, when theeconomydoesn’t do well, the companies would not be able to promote career advancement programs among its employees purely because of the cost that it has to bear for such activities. In addition, the companies would not be able to offer better compensation, bonuses or a raise in salaries due to poor growth and the weak earnings recorded by the industry. Employees are not even in a position to make demands or even promote themselves as being worthy of promotion, as it can backfire if the bosses feel the employee is trying to push others aside and maintain his or her job without doing any useful work.
For those who seek better jobs elsewhere in the same industry or in different industries, this would be a bad time to change jobs unless he or she is forced to do so because of impending job cuts. Such persons might find that companies are not prepared to pay a higher salary or give a better remuneration as the strategy they have adapted is to weather off the present economic downturn and think of expanding and growth once the economy comes back to life.
Another factor that can slow down the career development of a person is the pressure to perform well and the competitiveness generated within establishments to avoid being axed. Thus, collaborative learning may not take place in the way it was earlier and a person may find him or herself alone in the fight to perform well without having any valuable feedback.
However, for some, working at a time of economic crisis can bring the best out of their bosses and therefore advance their careers much more than they could during a time of economic stability. In order to achieve such success, employees need to be innovative, skilled, efficient and intelligent as any wrong move can backfire during unstable times.
