When Companies Make People Choose Between Their Career and Their Spouses’

Jennifer Petriglieri

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">In Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <h5>The Problem</h5>
  <p>High potentials are increasingly committed to their partners’ careers as well as their own, but most companies haven’t figured out how to accommodate that commitment. They invest heavily in grooming star performers for leadership roles, only to have them resign when confronted with flexibility and mobility challenges. That’s wreaking havoc on recruitment and retention.</p>
  <h5>The Source</h5>
  <p>Because “future leaders” are usually expected to advance in a certain way—often through set tours of duty around the globe—it can be difficult for members of dual-career couples to move ahead at work.</p>
  <h5>The Solution</h5>
  <p>Organizations can remove barriers to advancement by allowing people to develop in more-creative ways—through brief “job swaps,” for example, or “commuter” roles. But often a culture change is needed. Instead of stigmatizing flexibility, companies must learn to embrace it.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p>As the head of a large manufacturing plant at a multinational conglomerate, an executive I’ll call David had proved himself a competent, trustworthy manager. So when the presidency of one of the company’s key businesses unexpectedly became vacant, the CEO sat David down to share the good news that he had been chosen for the role. He had earned it.</p>

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<p>Companies invest heavily in grooming star talent for leadership&#8212;but most of them haven&#8217;t figured out how to manage the growing population of employees who care deeply about their partners&#8217; or spouses&#8217; careers at the same time that they want to advance their own. As a result, many high potentials are heading for the nearest exit.</p>
<p>The author has seen this happen again and again in her research on dual-career couples in tech, health care, professional services, and other industries. She says the crux of the problem is that companies tend to have fixed paths to leadership roles, with set tours of duty and rigid ideas about what ambition looks like. That creates flexibility and mobility challenges for employees&#8212;and recruitment and retention headaches for employers.</p>
<p>Organizations must adopt new strategies for managing and developing talent. They can remove barriers to advancement by allowing people to develop skills and networks in more-creative ways&#8212;through brief &#8220;job swaps,&#8221; for example, or commuter-leader roles. But often a culture change is needed. Instead of stigmatizing flexibility, companies must learn to embrace it.</p>

Talent Management and the Dual-Career Couple

Companies invest heavily in grooming star talent for leadership—but most of them haven’t figured out how to manage the growing population of employees who care deeply about their partners’ or spouses’ careers at the same time that they want to advance their own. As a result, many high potentials are heading for the nearest exit. The author has seen this happen again and again in her research on dual-career couples in tech, health care, professional services, and other industries. She says the crux of the problem is that companies tend to have fixed paths to leadership roles, with set tours of duty and rigid ideas about what ambition looks like. That creates flexibility and mobility challenges for employees—and recruitment and retention headaches for employers. Organizations must adopt new strategies for managing and developing talent. They can remove barriers to advancement by allowing people to develop skills and networks in more-creative ways—through brief “job swaps,” for example, or commuter-leader roles. But often a culture change is needed. Instead of stigmatizing flexibility, companies must learn to embrace it.

Talent Management and the Dual-Career Couple

Summary.

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