The conventional language of career success moves in only one direction; up. But there is another type of career path. Sideways moves, to jobs that don’t【C1】_____a promotion or【C2】__necessarily a pay rise, can be an advantage to employees and organisations【C3】_____.

A study carried out by Donald Sull of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 2021 found that the【C4】_____of lateral career opportunities has a marked impact on employee【C5】__Their research found that chances to move sideways were two and a half times more important than pay【C6】__a predictor of workers’【C7】_____to stay at a firm.

A recent paper by Virginia Minni of the Institute for Fiscal Studies, a British think-tank, found that the arrival of a high-flying boss (who had got the job early in their career) was【C8】_____with a jump in intra-company【C9】__, both horizontal and vertical, among employees. Better bosses seem to be good at sorting people into roles that【C10】__them. This process【C11】_____higher pay over time for employees who move sideways.

Lateral moves can also be a wonderful【C12】_____for boredom. Surveys consistently show that great chunks of the workforce find their jobs【C13】__. Stephan Meier of Columbia Business School reckons that one big【C14】__of motivation for workers is having “just right tasks” that are【C15】__their capabilities but stretch them in new ways. Promotions offer fresh challenges but you can also easily get【C16】__waiting for a vacancy to open up above you. Looking to the side【C17】_____more options.

Embracing sideways movement requires the right【C18】_____Lots of managers like to hold talent,【C19】__workers and firms. And moving horizontally still has less prestige than moving upwards. It would help if career success had a different【C20】_____: say, across or out.

【C7】