Bosses reveal how to get that promotion

Listen up, workaholics: All those extra hours spent in the office are not going to help you climb the corporate ladder.

According to a Regus survey of 600 Australian business leaders, the amount of time spent at your desk has plummeted as criteria for bosses to promote, news.com.au reported.

Just 19% of bosses said working long hours should be a factor when promoting, while only 30% said experience and time spent in a position should also matter.

Instead, the ability to win new business (64%) and ability to do the job (97%) were the top criteria when considering employees for a career boost.

And, contrary to popular belief, physical appearance only matters to 2% of bosses, while only 11% will promote based on your personal relationship to them.

When it comes to pay rises that accompany a promotion, the majority (53%) believed promoted employees should receive a 10% salary boost, while a quarter said a 20% pay rise was more acceptable.

A resounding majority (56%) also said it “doesn’t matter” how long someone has been in their job before deciding to promote them.

Twenty-one per cent believed bosses should wait around one year before promoting a staff member, while 16% said waiting two years was sufficient.

Charlie Nelson, a social statistician and managing director of Forseechange, told news.com.au the results show bosses are understanding people cannot just live to work.

“That 19% figure for time spent in the office would've been a lot higher 10 to 20 years ago.

“There is an increasing recognition that we all have portfolio lives. We might have a range of interests, not just our job, but families, charity work and self-development… as long as people get the job done then they have more freedom.”

Social commentator Mark McCrindle said the dwindling importance of time spent in the office is a sign of the times, where flexible working hours and teleworking are becoming the norm.