ADP Inc. collected data from 37,989 workers in 34 countries and found the following barriers to
career advancement among them.
· Lack ofopportunity (19%)
· Lack of desire (13%)
· Lack of time (12%)
· Self-motivation (10%)
· Lack of support (8%)
· Lack of confidence (8%)
· Lack of experience (8%)
· Lack of visibilitywith management (6%)
· Lack of skill (6%)
· Fear (5%)
· Lack of education (5%)
As we can see, the data were very scattered. This means that, when it comes to career development, a tailored approach is necessary. A career coach should be assigned to each employee to work on a customized solution.
For example, if employees feel they lack opportunities for moving ahead, their career coaches could conduct career mapping to show them how they can progress within the firm. And if they are not satisfied with their current options, they can participate in the Corporate Explorer program, where they can develop new businesses and take charge themselves.
In case of a lack of desire to move up, there are options to movelaterally and even move down to learn new skills. Moving up is not the only option anymore. This is called a career lattice. Also, they can consider a dual career ladder, where they can choose to move up via the specialist track instead of the managerial one because not everyone is cut out to be a manager.
If workers feel that they do not have time for more responsibilities, perhaps they need time management training. However, if the advanced role actually requires a significant time commitment to the point where it discourages potential candidates, consider job redesign to lighten the workload by delegating some mundane tasks or adopting artificial intelligence solutions.
For someone who can’t seem to find their intrinsic motivation, they can try passion projects
where they work on something that excites them and report back to their managers what they have learned, or try job shadowing, where they can observe employees in other departments to learn about other roles that might excite them.
If employees feel that they do not have enough support for career development, traditional mentoring could help. Alternatively, employee resource groups, or employee-led groups that share the same interests with the goal of fostering belonging, can also do the trick.
For someone who needs help boosting self-confidence in managerial roles, a management trainee
program could prepare them for upcoming challenges. Another option is internal knowledge-sharing sessions, where employees share what they have learned on the job with each other.
Job rotation and stretch assignments could help employees who lack the necessary work experience. Job rotation involves assignments in different job roles, while stretch assignments are those that go beyond an employee’s current responsibilities and comfort zone.
If employees feel that they lack visibility with management, they can be placed on the Employee
Advisory Board, where they can give feedback or voice concerns to the top echelons. For young employees, the reverse mentoring program allows them to mentor senior executives, which is a great opportunity to showcase their knowledge and new ideas.
Either upskilling or reskilling could provide employees with the necessary skills they need. Upskilling is learning additional skills within the same line of work, while reskilling is learning skills for different lines of work.
To conquer fear, mindfulness exercises or psychological counseling could do the trick. Lastly, employees who lack appropriate credentials could be encouraged to go back to school through a tuition reimbursement program or to attend professional development courses.
All these solutions may sound like a tall order, but it’s better for employees to find career advancement opportunities within firms than elsewhere.

Bibliography:
· Richardson, N., Hayes, M., Northup, J. & Hanowell, B. (2025). 2025 People
at Work: A global workforce view. ADP Inc. https://www.adpresearch.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/PAW2025-Final.pdf