Does promotion foster career sustainability? A comparative three-wave study on the role of promotion in work stress, job satisfaction, and career-related performance

Abstract The present study investigates the role of promotion in employees’ happiness (job satisfaction), health (work stress), and career-related performance (perceived employability and career prospects). Positive and negative changes in the above-mentioned career sustainability indicators were investigated over a 2-year period. The promotion subsample ( n = 128) was compared with a matched sample of non-promoted employees ( n = 150). We also tested the role of gender in responding to a promotion. The findings suggest that the promotion may have equivocal effects on employees’ happiness, health, and career-related performance over time, and therefore does not foster their career sustainability.