A new global study by ADP Research reveals that nearly a quarter of employees in Spain feel held back by a lack of advancement opportunities. This figure is the second highest in Europe and underscores a key concern that affects productivity and increases the risk of turnover in companies. The "People at Work 2025" report also highlights gender and age differences in the perception of obstacles.
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La lack of opportunities It is the main obstacle that Spanish workers point out when advancing in their professional careers, affecting the 23% of the workforce surveyed. This figure places Spain as the second European country, only behind Italy, with a higher proportion of employees perceiving this brake.
This is what the report indicates "People at Work 2025: A Vision for the Global Workforce", produced by ADP Research, the research firm of ADP (world leader in HR and payroll solutions), after interviewing more than 38.000 employees in Spain and 33 other countries.
The second most frequent barrier cited by workers in Spain is the lack of time, mentioned by the 16% of the study participants. In addition, the 13% of the Spanish respondents stated that they believe they would need change company to be able to progress in their career, a figure slightly lower than the global average (15%).
Georgina Soca, Senior Director of Human Resources Spain and Global Payroll at ADP, emphasizes the importance of this situation: “Today's workforce knows what it means to grow, whether it's taking on a leadership role, new responsibilities, or improving their skills. However, when the path forward is unclear, even the most engaged workers can lose interest. Employers must turn career aspirations into visible and viable opportunities.".
Age and gender differences in obstacles
The report details that the perception of obstacles varies significantly by demographics. Regarding gender differences, fear was a barrier that showed the greatest disparity, being mentioned by the 9% of women versus 4% of men. Likewise, women (15%) were slightly more likely than men (11%) to fully agree that they would need to change companies to advance.
At a global level, concern about the lack of opportunities increases with age, being reported by more than 20% of workers aged 40 or over, while the figure decreases to 14% among employees aged 26 or younger
By job level, the individual contributors (20%) and the middle and first-line managers (18%) are those who most perceive the scarcity of opportunities, in contrast to the executives and senior managers (16%).
Stagnation drives turnover and affects productivity
El professional stagnation It is configured as a key factor in the looking for a new jobAmong workers internationally who see their growth options limited, more than a third (34%) is actively seeking or interviewing for another position.
The study also links this perception with productivity: those who firmly believe they must change companies to progress have 2,6 times less likely to consider themselves highly productive.
To Nela Richardson, ADP chief economist, “The impact of limited professional visibility in the workplace is not only related to a lack of employee engagement, but also to loss of productivity, decreased innovation, and increased staff turnover.".
In this context, organizations must focus on the factors that promote customer Employees. The top reasons cited by employees globally for seeing a future at their current company are: Opportunity for professional development (45%); Vocational training and skills development (36%) and Flexible schedule (34%).
Richardson concludes that: “Organizations that design clear and equitable career paths not only retain talent, but also increase their ability to develop their employees' full productive potential.".
