The study found that employees feel little compulsion to stay with an employer that provides professional development if they don't see any career advancement opportunities, said expert Scott Seibert.

"Only those employees who can see a way forward in their careers will stay with an employer," said Seibert. "Otherwise, professional development opportunities might simply make their workers more employable by other firms."

This suggests that successful employee development is more than just providing development opportunities. Seibert said that for those investments to pay off, employers need to also show they offer adequate career advancement opportunities.

"More developmental support is associated with higher performance and lower turnover generally," said Kraimer. "However, when career opportunities are low, development support was not related to performance and it actually increased turnover."

"Given the high costs associated with staffing and turnover, expenditures for development support may be well justified, but only when employees perceive there are career opportunities within the organization," Kraimer said.

The good news is the survey found that not all employees interpreted career advancement opportunities as the traditional climb up the management ladder, such as promotions or raises. They found that programs like mentoring and job rotations as well as good relationships with their immediate boss can create the feeling that career opportunities are available. "Career opportunities are perceptual in nature, so raising perceived career opportunities for employees may be largely a matter of letting employees know more about the range of possibilities that are already available within the organization," they wrote.