Everywhere we turn—conferences, leadership forums, executive meetings—employee happiness (or the lack thereof) is a hot topic. And it makes sense. Research from BambooHR and others tells us employee happiness is at a historical low. The past few years—with all its upheaval—have inspired many to re-evaluate their relationship with work. And a lot of employees have discovered that relationship is falling short of what they want and need.

The once-standard career trajectory and traditional trappings of success don’t have the same power they once did. Now, people are measuring success differently, more personally. 

For leaders, this means rethinking career development and acknowledging that people are looking beyond promotions for fulfillment. In fact, I’d go so far as to say that today contentment is the new promotion. Your people may want meaningful work even more than that new title. Or the flexibility to attend their kids’ soccer games. Or the greater challenge? Or the ability to develop new skills. And the good news is that cultivating this kind of career contentment is completely within your sphere of influence.

For more thoughts on how contentment just might be the new promotion, check out my latest column in Training Industry.

And if you want concrete strategies and tools for helping people find greater contentment in their current roles, dig into chapter 7 of Promotions Are SO Yesterday.

Photo by Kenny Eliason on Unsplash.

The post Contentment Just Might Be the New Promotion appeared first on Julie Winkle Giulioni.

Julie Winkle Giulioni Author, Speaker and Consultant

Julie Winkle Giulioni is a champion for workplace growth and development and helps executives and leaders optimize talent and potential within their organizations. One of Inc. Magazine’s Top 100 speakers, she’s the author of Promotions Are So Yesterday: Redefine Career Development. Help Employees Thrive and the co-author of the international bestseller, Help Them Grow or Watch Them Go: Career Conversations Organizations Need and Employees Want, translated into seven languages.

Julie is a regular columnist for Training Industry Magazine and SmartBrief and contributes articles on leadership, career development, and workplace trends to numerous publications including The Economist.