I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with a couple old friends. It’s an ages-old topic, and I don’t pretend to be profound in my revelations, on it. But it’s come up in a number of areas in my life recently, so I figured I’d use this as a springboard. I’ve cleaned up some grammar and spelling, but it’s otherwise direct.<\/p>\n
Misguided Friend 1:<\/strong> I work harder than anyone else and keep watching everyone around me being promoted.<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 2:<\/strong> You and I put in a harder 40 than everybody.<\/p>\n Me:<\/strong> “a harder 40”? Do you, perchance, notice if the people around you that you’re referring to happen to be there before you get in, or more likely after you go home?<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 2:<\/strong> I’m always here on time, and so is Misguided Friend 1.<\/p>\n Me:<\/strong> That’s not what I asked.<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 2:<\/strong> Not all of us can be workaholics.<\/p>\n Me:<\/strong> So the “workaholics” are the ones getting promotions? If you were mangement and had $X to spread around for raises, and finite opportunities to promote people, who would you choose: The guys putting in a “hard 40”, or the ones putting in a “good 60” or “frequent 70”? Let alone those doing a “reliable 80”?<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 2:<\/strong> We do more than our job requires as it is!<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 2:<\/strong> Way more.<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 1:<\/strong> Neither of us even take long lunch breaks with the others anymore.<\/p>\n Me:<\/strong> I’m not questioning your work ethics, guys: I know you both, and know you’re hard workers. I’m only getting at the point that if you’re “stars” amongst “superstars”, you can’t expect management to give you rewards over those working 50%-or-more more than you.<\/p>\n Misguided Friend 1:<\/strong> But why do we have to be punished because other people are workaholics?<\/p>\n Me:<\/strong> I worded my last statement carefully: You’re not being punished, Misguided Friend 1, you’re just not being additionally rewarded.<\/p>\n And there it is. Your reward is keeping the job that you’re doing. The solutions? Deal with it. Work more. Find a new job.<\/p>\n If there truly is an injustice, then talk with your management chain and learn why. I’ve rarely met a manager who doesn’t have reason for giving raises and promotions. As most managers are evaluated on the quality of those they manage, there is – generally speaking – relatively little graft at that level. The next level: When you have mangers managing managers (meta-management) is when you can start throwing novel notions like these out the window.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" I had an interesting conversation over the weekend with a couple old friends. It’s an ages-old topic, and I don’t pretend to be profound in my revelations, on it. But it’s come up in a number of areas in my … Continue reading