Nice Girls Don't Ask. Why women don't negotiate, and why it's costing U.S. businesses billions. [The Motley Fool]
This article was quite interesting to me. One section stated: Each year, U.S. businesses lose $11 billion to the costs of attrition. One major reason for employee turnover? Women are pessimistic about their chances of advancement. Managers who assign tasks to their most vocal employees are competing with only half a team. The No. 1 reason women cite for leaving a job is that their skills are not being used.
Ain't that the truth? I know plenty of girls (myself included) who have or are contemplating a career change because we feel like we're not getting anywhere where we currently are and our chances of moving up are slim to nil. Now, I certainly am the most vocal on my particular team, but maybe not enough or not high enough.
And it further states: Why women keep mum When it comes to piping up for what we want, women still worry about being perceived as "bitchy" or "difficult" if we assert our needs or pursue our ambitions. We fear that approaching our bosses will hurt our professional relationships. And we mistakenly assume that merit and hard work will be rewarded. Just sit quietly, do your job well, and the rewards will come, we tell ourselves. Tick, tock, tick, tock. Still waiting?
This is a very hard point for me. I do want to be nice. I don't want to be seen as difficult. But, I want things to be "fair." I want a raise when I deserve it. I want to be given more challenging work. I want an opportunity to make a difference in the company. How do you break through barriers without being seen as a bitch? It's tough. I think it's tougher than most guys would give it credit. Even if people at work didn't give me a hard time, I would feel bad. I want my bosses to be happy too, so I don't want to step on their toes too much.
It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it.
4:55:11 PM
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