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SENIORITY VS. MERIT: Which should you use for promotion?

SENIORITY VS. MERIT: Which should you use for promotion?

Promotion at work is made either on the basis of seniority or on the basis of merit or both. Seniority is a privileged status attained by an individual who has served in a position or worked for an organization for a long period of time.


On the other hand, meritocracy is a system in which talented and hardworking personnel are chosen for promotions based on achievements, not because of their seniority.

Seniority represents many benefits, including a deep understanding of organization culture, vision, and goals. Moreover, senior employees have experience on their side, which is a critical element especially in the selection of high leadership positions. It is often assumed that the more senior you are, the more suitable you are to lead a team. which isn’t always true.

That comes along with its disadvantages. Seniority prevents brilliant personnel from getting the motivation to improve their performance if they’re eligible for higher positions. This will lead to labor turnover. In the end, the overall production of the section/division will be affected.


That’s why if promotions are based purely on seniority, employees may not be as motivated to perform exceptionally, so it is essential to consider a merit-based promotion system to build an environment that will benefit the organization in the end. (Ref: Shaffick Hamuth https://bit.ly/30hgec2)

“We can now easily be understood that seniority by itself is an incomplete criterion. Much of the clamour for its recognition as the sole criterion is based on the distrust of management. But in the interest of efficiency, equity and a contented workforce, the management should work out a compromise between seniority and merit.  Only when coupled with merit does seniority meet the two-fold aim of affording the employee due to recognition for his years in service while at the same time providing him with a built-in incentive to qualify himself for advancement. Thus, there is always the problem of balancing one in relation to the other.” – (Ref: P.C Tripathi and P.N Reddy, Principle of Management pg.213) 

Source:

Shaffick Hamuth https://bit.ly/30hgec2

Esraa Gaafar https://bit.ly/33MvOyG

P.C Tripathi and P.N Reddy, Principle of Management pg.213