Another casualty of the anemic economy: employee ambition

Has the recession sapped workers' desire to advance up the management ladder? That's the topic of a post this week by Ed Frauenheim in his Work in Progress blog for Workforce magazine, "The Age of the Less-Ambitious Employee" cites Brian Kropp, a managing director at the Corporate Executive Board, who says workers see that top positions don't necessarily come with a great financial payoff, and staff cuts have made management jobs more challenging. "The bottom line is that a corner office--with all its demands--is less appealing," Frauenheim writes. "This isn't to say workers are slacking. In fact, all indications are that employees have been putting in extra hours in what we've dubbed the 'work-more economy,'" he said. Frauenheim suggests that the lack of ambition may not be all bad. He also has suggestions for how employers should deal with the trend, such as learning to become more flexible. Interesting food for thought, especially as the Generation X and Y workers advance in their careers.