A survey released today, suggests that younger workers may be suffering from too much ‘Britishness’ as they hide their talents under a bushel whilst their more mature colleagues shout about their successes from the rooftops, according to the UK’s leading training provider Pitman Training.
In their ‘Britishness at Work’ survey Pitman Training explored whether the ‘stiff upper lip’ still exists in modern British workplaces and if this is having an impact on the nation achieving its potential. They also delved into uncovering if there were different attitudes across the generations and sexes towards promoting career success in a bid to discover why people are loathe to share their achievements in the workplace.
Helping Britain’s Workforce Achieve Career Glory
In response to these shocking statistics, Pitman Training are using social media channels to inspire people to #NominateNow on Random Acts of Kindness day – prompting colleagues to nominate their co-workers for the work that they do, in a bid to increase awareness of both recognition and self-achievement. Pitman SuperAchievers Awards launched 5 years ago to recognise those who often work the hardest, but go unrecognized in the shadows. The awards are seeking to really challenge the perception of career success, and set some goals for achievement across the Nation. Entry is free, and can be accessed online: www.pitmansuperachievers.com
In the survey results Brits proclaim “We’re not modest”, however the statistics revealed results to the contrary and show modesty of younger workers could be hampering career dreams. It was revealed that the younger generation was more influenced by traditional British values than their older colleagues with 33% of younger workers aged 25-34 agreeing that with Britishness came modesty, compared to 26% of 45-54 year olds.
When asked if they associated Britishness with lack of confidence only 1 in 10 Brits said yes, however when quizzed on how they promoted their success it was a very different story: –
- 37% of Brits surveyed admitted to having left an achievement out of their CV
- 19% of those asked would never self-promote in a workplace
- 17% of Brits would never ask for a promotion
Gender differences were also illustrated as it was shown that women in particularly most heavily associated Britishness with modesty with 32% vs 24% of men.
Almost a third (32%) of respondents who associate Britishness with modesty have answered that they feel like they do not feel like they are chasing their dreams in their lives.
Claire Lister, MD at Pitman Training Group said: “In modern society the dynamics in the workplace are constantly changing and as ‘generation selfie’ suggests to us that Brits are becoming less shy about self-promotion, we wanted to explore if this was really the case. I’ve found these results really interesting as I expected younger workers to be very forthright about promoting themselves, and thought women particularly were becoming more empowered – but these results show the opposite, and that in fact it’s the older generation who are the most likely to shout about their achievements at work. This may be because more 45-54 year olds associated success with the courage to chase life dreams, than their younger colleagues and it’s this attitude that drives them on.”
On the whole 45-54 year olds proved most confident in terms of progression with 82% stating they would ask for a promotion and 87% claiming they would enter an award at work, with the 25-34 year olds being the least confident in these areas with 20% saying they would never enter an award.
Whilst these results highlighted a desire for career development it seems they don’t want to shout about their achievements, with surprising results revealing that men over 45 were the least likely to self-promote in the workplace and women over 45 were the least likely to tell their friends if they got a promotion.
With almost half of people (48%) who would never enter an award in work stating they do not feel like they are chasing their dreams, this highlighted that many young people will not be feeling fulfilled in their careers.
Lister said: “For people who are not comfortable recognising their achievements there is a direct correlation between lack of progression and lack of fulfilment. It’s important for us to encourage the younger generation to be proud and not prudish when it comes to highlighting their impact in the workplace”.
Pitman Training is currently running its SuperAchievers Awards to showcase those who tirelessly work to achieve their professional and financial goals across categories such as Young Achiever, Entrepreneur, Working Mum and PA of the Year. Nominations are now open and entries can be submitted for free via www.pitmansuperachievers.com.
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