Leadership Today

Don’t Accept More Responsibility With No Change in Pay or Title

This is called Quiet Hiring

“Pretty normal for a high-achiever to be shut out by superiors for various self-serving reasons. Keep achieving anyways.” ― Richie Norton

Every now and again, I get a call from my younger relatives seeking help. The best part is that I was an executive for a long time, so I know some tricks. The worst part is that companies are trying to do to new generations what they did to Boomers and GenX. Quiet hiring is the newest tactic following quiet quitting and quiet firing. My niece was asked to lead a team with no change in title or pay.

What is quiet hiring supposed to be?

“A company assesses its current workforce, mainly those who have gradually begun taking on responsibilities beyond their job description (which many quiet quitters already vehemently insist against). A thoughtful manager then notices that these workers have effectively started working in the position they wanted before being given the job — a sort of independent upskilling. If all goes according to plan, the manager will dole out a requisite raise or promotion, saving the worker a job search, the company a hiring spree, and everyone time.”–shrm.org, ‘Quiet Hiring’ is the Opposite of Quiet Quitting, and Workers are Furious About It

A worker does more, and the company automatically rewards them. When I read this, I laughed out loud. Really? In my experience, once a worker willingly does more work with no agreed-upon upside, the company lets them do more work for free.

“I stopped reading [the Inc. article] when it said [they] promote internal employees who take on extra tasks. Then I knew it was absolute rubbish,” a Redditor wrote in a thread on the concept. “No one is getting promoted for doing multiple jobs. They will keep you there, as their obedient workhorse, with minimal raises and zero support until something breaks. There is no reward for taking on extra tasks — except more tasks.” shrm.org–’Quiet Hiring’ is the Opposite of Quiet Quitting, and Workers are Furious About It

One of the first things I learned after graduating college while working at a large, respected Aerospace company was a saying the old engineers told the newbies: “The reward for good work is more work.” We did not know where the anonymous saying came from, but soon discovered it was true.

Our boss was promoted. One of the technical men that worked for him started doing most management aspects of his position. The man was doing the boss’s job well for many months, in addition to his job. He was at work 60 hours a week. He took over checking our timecards and reviewing our work. He approved vacation and personal time. He managed assigning and tracking work for our group. When a person called in late or absent, he was the one you called to notify. He attended all the meetings the old boss used to attend. He made tough decisions we all followed.

For this extra work, he did not receive a title change. We asked. He told us his pay had not changed, but he was expecting, at any minute, he would become our official leader. He had kept us working together without an official department manager. The department ran smoothly because of him.

What did the company do? Seven months after our boss left, they hired another person to do that job. They did not even tell the man doing the job they had done so. A person showed up and moved into the old boss’s office. An announcement introduced the new hire so we would all understand who was in charge.

They did not give the man who had been doing the job anything. In fact, they told him he lacked the requisite Master’s degree for the promotion. I don’t know if they even thanked him. He left the company a few months later. I learned a valuable lesson early in my career — make sure you know what you will get for taking on additional projects before doing so — don’t ‘just do it’.

This understanding is critical in today’s chaotic world. Companies release workers and expect the same amount of work to get done at the same rate and productivity with the remaining workers. It is magic. Cut the workforce by 25% and expect no changes in projects and timelines.

I helped my niece practice what she would say to her boss about being given more responsibilities without title or pay. After their discussion, she got a 12% raise but no change in title. She took the money but is unobtrusively looking for an equal position where she will get the title and the money.

The good news is that the current generations are not breaking their backs because fewer workers exist after a layoff action. They will do their jobs to the best of their ability. Management must accept that a reduction in staffing will cause a reduction in the work capacity of the organization.

A meaningful change in staffing and in workload requires a change in title and/or pay. There is no quiet hiring.

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