Performance Punishment, When Being the Best is the Worst.

Quiet quitting has made the news a few times in the recent year or two, but did you know there is also “quiet promoting?” When you are the most reliable member of a team, brilliant at what you do, and being the GOAT (greatest of all time) MVP (most valuable player) you would think that this would result in perks and benefits. But sometimes it can feel like a curse more than a blessing.

What are some signs you are being “quiet promoted” or performance punished?

…when your hard work and dedication earns you additional work, to the point you are overwhelmed or overworked.

…when the expectations placed on you as far as hours worked, pace, and results are higher than what your colleagues are expected to produce even when they have the exact same role as you.

…when you are assigned projects and tasks so far out of your scope or experience you are at risk of being set up to fail.

…when you try to hold reasonable boundaries with your employer around your time and workload but are met with guilt-inducing, gaslighting responses such as “I thought you wanted to be successful here?”

Why do quiet promotions happen?

There are a variety of reasons employers engage in this behavior both on purpose and unintentionally.

They simply trust you.

The most common situation is when your boss or manager trusts you, whether they appreciate the quality of your work or find you the easiest to work with. They want to reward you with more experience and responsibility as an attempt to show you they value you. When it results in overworking or increased stress on the employee that is when it becomes misguided and will result in declining performance in most cases.

A quick reaction to a staffing or budget shortage.

Economic factors and labor issues can result in sudden changes to the work environment. The first step a company will take is to absorb the work either previously filled by a former employee or new tasks that have developed in response to market uptake with existing staff and resources.

When there is no compensation increase or tangible promotion such as a change in title, even if in an acting position, this puts extra strain and pressure on good employees who will often step up in order to help the team through a rough patch. Companies that experience high amounts of turnover and employee dissatisfaction will often be in a “crisis” mode and are at higher risk of this situation occurring.

Understandably, absorption may need to be done on a temporary basis and as long as communication and strategic planning are clear it can be done without long-term repercussions.

Managers are not taught how to be leaders.

Organizations sometimes choose leaders based on the skills and knowledge they demonstrated as an employee without considering what leadership abilities they may need to learn or grow into.

If a manager does not delegate, set clear expectations, understand how to organize systems, or possess the ability to coach their people it is likely they will be quietly promoting and performance punishing their best players.

What are the costs?

A study by JobSage shared interesting findings to summarize:

78% of workers report experiencing quiet promotion

67% of workers report absorbing the work of terminated employees

73% reported they were asked to take on extra work without compensation

57% reported they felt manipulated or taken advantage of by their employer.

Gallup recently shared through a study that the #1-factor employees consider when deciding if they should seek employment with a different organization is “greater work-life balance and better personal well-being.” The #2-factor is an increase in income and improvements to company benefits.

It is a quick correlation to see how performance punishment costs employers in attrition and loss of talent every single day.

How managers can prevent quiet promoting.

There are a number of things a manager can do, that don’t require major policy change, to retain their top talent and prevent their burnout.

Redefine the meaning of flexibility.

When people think of flexible work they often think of hybrid roles, additional days of flex time available as needed or an employee setting their own schedule.

Flexibility can simply mean having compassion for the team and understanding the needs they have. As an example, if there is a project that requires collaborative work but the time that it is usually scheduled interferes with a worker’s ability to manage their work, or even their personal responsibilities, it is acceptable to rethink when teams work together. One solution might be to rotate meeting times so everyone takes a turn being the one that might have to be inconvenienced.

A manager may also look at who works together. If scheduling nine employees for a recurring collaborative meeting becomes a logistical nightmare, then assess the tasks or project to determine if an additional breakdown of the team might be a suitable option. Maybe three people have similar schedules and can work together to take 1/3 of a project onto their plates, easing the pressure of organizing many people multiple times.

Display trust.

When overworked people express they are struggling to maintain their pace and quality of work the best thing a leader can do is believe them. Managers have a tendency to ask for proof by tracking minutes of time spent in each area and placing further expectations on the employee to “manage their time” more responsibly.

One time it took me days of reports and consultation with our human resources team to convince my manager that I was working the equivalent pace of three full-time employees. When asked why I was being held to this standard the manager responded because I know she is building a career, this is how you reach corporate goals. When I started putting boundaries in place I did end up having a large amount of my responsibilities removed.

Leaders need to consider if they are creating an all-or-nothing mentality that keeps people working hard out of fear of losing out on opportunities or their livelihood. Coach employees struggling with expectations, priorities, or workload to assure them that it is safe for them to cxpress their challenges and potential solutions.

Make sure people believe that just because they struggle in one area does not mean they are inadequate. Take it as an opportunity to reframe, rethink, and reposition the tasks at hand for the benefit of the entire team and how happier healthier employees could positively impact client experience and profitability in addition to the culture.

Delegate thoughtfully.

Delegation means lining people up to work within their strengths, that when they receive a project or task they can clearly understand why they were the person to take that on. It fits their skillset and capacity. How many of us have been assigned a task or duty from the ivory tower and thought “Do they even know what we do down here?”

In order to understand the flow of work and which people have the time and ability to perform the job requires taking time to be present where the work happens, with the people that are doing the work, and believing in their lived experience when they share it with you.

Be clear.

There will be times when people need to pitch in a little extra time or responsibility due to circumstances. In these cases communicate why this is happening, how the work is going to be spread as equitably as possible, and what the long-term plan is to absorb this work on a permanent basis. Communicate acknowledgment of and appreciation for when people do have to take on more than their usual share of the load.

If you are a manager, think of one person on your team today that you might be quietly promoting that you absolutely cannot afford to lose. Provide them recognition for their effort and start to build that safe space to start communicating how concessions and progress can be made.

Remember, they did not reach this point by themselves and it will require being better together in order to reach an outcome that is sustainable and more than satisfactory for you and your employee.

Want to know more about how we help organizations become #bettertogether? Email me at [email protected]

If you liked this you will definitely enjoy this piece by fellow Engage writer George J. Ziogas