Woman Stops Doing Anything Outside Her Job Description After Boss Refuses To Promote Her, Boss Accuses Her Of Sabotaging The Team
Interview
Some employees choose to go the extra mile, especially when there’s a promotion in sight. Unfortunately, their superiors might keep it at arm’s length at all times, nevertheless.
Redditor u/Lemonslothcake told the ‘Malicious Compliance’ community about her boss refusing to give her a higher position despite meeting all the goals that have been set. The superior said that doing extra work doesn’t entitle her to a promotion, which is when the employee decided to halt any additional tasks. Unsurprisingly, the boss wasn’t happy about it.
Bored Panda has reached out to u/Lemonslothcake and she was kind enough to answer a few of our questions. You will find her thoughts below.
Some superiors only seem to care about the extra work their employees do when they stop doing it
Image credits: fauxels (not the actual photo)
This woman opened up about her boss setting targets for a promotion and refusing to give her one even when they are met repeatedly
Image credits: Tima Miroshnichenko (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Glenn Carstens-Peters (not the actual photo)
Image credits: Lemonslothcake
The prospect of a promotion motivates employees not only because of the money, but also because of the positive challenges and responsibilities it brings
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
The prospect of a promotion can be quite motivating for an employee. It often means higher compensation, which not a lot of people would say no to. It also presents more responsibilities and challenges that are common driving forces for ambitious people in the company.
Work Tango pointed out that challenging employees to grow is one of the five key motivators at a workplace. Recognition is another significant one, which, according to Gitnux, encourages over 80% of employed people to work even harder.
Gitnux also revealed that as much as 93% of employees believe that trust in the leadership is vitally important to keep the employees motivated. The manager in the OP’s story didn’t seem too trustworthy, as she repeatedly altered the goals that have to be met to get a promotion.
“Being led on in the situation was definitely the most upsetting thing,” the OP told Bored Panda. “There had been points where I was looking for other roles, but then was told I was close to a promotion so gave up other opportunities, and it all ended up just being a way to keep me around.”
Promotion practices help set guidelines for when an employee can expect to climb the career ladder
Image credits: Andrea Piacquadio (not the actual photo)
“Previous times, there had always been a reason why I couldn’t have the promotion yet. That final time, however, the manager told me to my face that all of my efforts had been for nothing and no matter how well I did, I did not deserve a promotion,” the redditor said.
Indeed suggested that, when it comes to best promotion practices, implementing a formal policy is one of the best options. Such policies differ from company to company, but they set clear guidelines when an employee can expect to climb one step higher on the ladder.
They can help avoid situations similar to the one in the OP’s story, with her manager repeatedly moving the goalposts once the targets were met. A fellow redditor pointed out that it might also be sensible to have any promotion-related conversations with more than one superior.
Setting guidelines for when an employee might be leveling up indicates that there is room for advancement in the company. According to Recruitee, showing that the company values and promotes growth might make the employee more eager to stay at the workplace.
Consequently it benefits the company as well, as engaged employees lead to higher levels of productivity. In addition to that, Recruitee pointed out other advantages, such as reducing hiring costs and employee turnover, and motivating other workers.
The OP eventually did get the promotion, however, she shared with Bored Panda that she’s currently working elsewhere. “Sometimes it’s hard to move out of your comfort zone, and you end up staying in one place out of fear that the next thing could be worse, scary, or harder. That isn’t always the case, I moved to a new role this year and so far it has done nothing but bring improvement in my life and health.”
People in the comments didn’t shy away from sharing their thoughts, the OP replied to some of them
It's unethical and dishonest for managers/supervisors to tell an employee these are the goals you must meet to get promoted/get a raise, and then when the employee meets those goals, to deny the promotion/raise and instead raise the goalpost. It destroys the credibility of the manager/supervisor and loses the trust of the employee. It breeds resentment and bitterness. How can any manager/supervisor think this is the way to handle employees? It just encourages them to do less (because there is no reward for doing more) and to leave the company for greener pastures. Too many companies fail to appreciate that experienced employees are an asset to the company, not an expense. Hire some youngster to replace them, and all too often the employer ends up hiring two new employees, not one, just to do the same work as that experienced employee did. SMH the whole management handbook needs to be rewritten. By Simon Sinek. ;-)
Bosses destroy their employees by trying to wring every last dollar out of them without giving back a single cent. Then employee leaves and finds a boss who appreciates their talents and rewards them. I can only think that the former bosses didn't get past level 1 in social intelligence. Trouble is, too many employees DO give their crappy bosses everything they have and die two days after retiring. Sad.
I just ran into one of the nurses I worked with. She worked there through the pandemic. The floor nurses who worked thru the pandemic were supposed to get moderate sized bonuses. Then the rule changed to say only if they got an excellent on their evaluations. Admin changed all of their ratings to average, disqualifying them for the bonuses. Of course admin did not work directly with COVID patients. They dictated from their thrones upstairs. They all did each other's evaluations & said they did excellent work so they could get the bonuses. So when admin asked the nurses to do important side projects for them, the nurses simply said that those projects needed be carried out by those with excellent evaluations. They were not good enough workers to do such important things. Admin there is the root of all evil. The problem is some of those admin people have been in their positions for over 20 years. And they only promote people that will fit into their click.
It's unethical and dishonest for managers/supervisors to tell an employee these are the goals you must meet to get promoted/get a raise, and then when the employee meets those goals, to deny the promotion/raise and instead raise the goalpost. It destroys the credibility of the manager/supervisor and loses the trust of the employee. It breeds resentment and bitterness. How can any manager/supervisor think this is the way to handle employees? It just encourages them to do less (because there is no reward for doing more) and to leave the company for greener pastures. Too many companies fail to appreciate that experienced employees are an asset to the company, not an expense. Hire some youngster to replace them, and all too often the employer ends up hiring two new employees, not one, just to do the same work as that experienced employee did. SMH the whole management handbook needs to be rewritten. By Simon Sinek. ;-)
Bosses destroy their employees by trying to wring every last dollar out of them without giving back a single cent. Then employee leaves and finds a boss who appreciates their talents and rewards them. I can only think that the former bosses didn't get past level 1 in social intelligence. Trouble is, too many employees DO give their crappy bosses everything they have and die two days after retiring. Sad.
I just ran into one of the nurses I worked with. She worked there through the pandemic. The floor nurses who worked thru the pandemic were supposed to get moderate sized bonuses. Then the rule changed to say only if they got an excellent on their evaluations. Admin changed all of their ratings to average, disqualifying them for the bonuses. Of course admin did not work directly with COVID patients. They dictated from their thrones upstairs. They all did each other's evaluations & said they did excellent work so they could get the bonuses. So when admin asked the nurses to do important side projects for them, the nurses simply said that those projects needed be carried out by those with excellent evaluations. They were not good enough workers to do such important things. Admin there is the root of all evil. The problem is some of those admin people have been in their positions for over 20 years. And they only promote people that will fit into their click.
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