Dead-end Job definition

Dead-end jobs are those where the possibility of future promotion and reward is limited or non-existent. Jobs with a poor ratio of service to pay – such as long hours and limited holiday time paired with minimum wage remuneration – are often cited as examples of dead-end jobs.

Jobs that are not traditionally seen as dead-end can become dead-end for reasons other than the job itself, such as an authoritarian manager who seems to not like the worker and passes them over for promotion. For the worker in question, the job is dead-end until the manager moves on.

Note that the phrase dead-end job does not make comment on the job satisfaction to be taken from a role. Job satisfaction is inherently linked to the value the worker perceives to be giving to the wider community and society – they could, technically, have a high level of job satisfaction within a dead-end position.