Employers Reveal the Top Factors Preventing Workers' Chance of Promotion in New CareerBuilder Survey

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Jul 02, 2015, 05:00 ET

CHICAGO, July 2, 2015 /PRNewswire/ --You come in early and leave late, you never miss a deadline, and your clients love you. So why haven't you gotten a promotion already? A recent study from CareerBuilder sheds light on the physical and behavioral factors that can hurt employees' career advancement prospects.

According to the national survey, provocative clothing, a disheveled appearance and unprofessional haircut are just a few of the things that cause employers to think twice before promoting them. Behaviors such as exhibiting a negative attitude, consistently arriving late or gossiping can also work against them.

The survey was conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder from February 11 to March 6, 2015, and included a representative sample of 2,175 hiring and human resource managers across industries and company sizes.

Attitudes Toward Appearance

When asked which aspects of a worker's physical appearance would make them less likely to promote that person, employers were most out of favor with provocative attire (44 percent) and wrinkled clothes or shabby appearance (43 percent). Other answers include:

Piercings outside of traditional ear piercings: 32 percent
Attire that is too casual for the workplace: 27 percent
Visible tattoos: 27 percent
An unprofessional or ostentatious haircut: 25 percent
Unprofessional or ostentatious facial hair: 24 percent
Bad breath: 23 percent
Heavy perfume or cologne: 21 percent
Too much makeup: 15 percent

Behavioral Blockades

Employers also revealed the top behaviors that hurt an employee's chances for promotion, with poor attitudes and consistent tardiness taking the top spot.

Having a negative or pessimistic attitude: 62 percent
Regularly showing up to work late: 62 percent
Using vulgar language: 51 percent
Regularly leaving work early: 49 percent
Taking too many sick days: 49 percent
Gossiping: 44 percent
Spending office time on personal social media accounts: 39 percent
Neglecting to clean up after himself/herself: 36 percent
Always initiating non-work-related conversations with co-workers: 27 percent
Taking personal calls at work: 24 percent
Taking smoke breaks: 19 percent

"In addition to on-the-job accomplishments, employers also take attitude, behavior and appearance into consideration when deciding who deserves to move up in the ranks," said Rosemary Haefner, chief human resources officer at CareerBuilder. "While your work performance may be strong, if you're not presenting yourself in a professional manner, it may be preventing your superiors from taking you seriously."

Survey Methodology
This survey was conducted online within the U.S. by Harris Poll on behalf of CareerBuilder among 2,175 hiring and human resource managers ages 18 and over (employed full-time, not self-employed, non-government) between February 11 and March 6, 2015. With a pure probability sample of 2,175, one could say with a 95 percent probability that the overall results have a sampling error of +/- 2.10 percentage points.

About CareerBuilder®
CareerBuilder is the global leader in human capital solutions, helping companies target and attract great talent. Its online career site, CareerBuilder.com®, is the largest in the United States with more than 24 million unique visitors and 1 million jobs. CareerBuilder works with the world's top employers, providing everything from labor market intelligence to talent management software and other recruitment solutions. Owned by Gannett Co., Inc. (NYSE:GCI), Tribune Company and The McClatchy Company (NYSE:MNI), CareerBuilder and its subsidiaries operate in the United States, Europe, South America, Canada and Asia. For more information, visit www.careerbuilder.com.

Media Contact
Mary Lorenz
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SOURCE CareerBuilder