Aside from getting hired in the first place, getting a promotion may be the biggest workplace challenge facing most employees.
Sometimes getting a promotion is about money. Other times it's about power, prestige, or increased responsibility. In most cases promotions bring a little bit of all of the above, making scoring one something most people dream about.
In a lot of situations it's not just you who wants a promotion. You're fighting against coworkers, people outside of the company, and probably more people than you know about.
Source: Fool.com