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A large part of excelling at work means knowing how to deal with your superiors and reminding them of your achievements. If you can successfully manage your managers, odds are that you’ll live a more peaceful life at the office, on the sales floor, at the construction site, and elsewhere. However, some managers are bent on making your life miserable, they won’t recognize your hard work, your dedication, your willingness to give them a second, third, even fourth chance to change their ways.

And some people… they’ve lost the spark of goodwill that made them go the extra mile and be nice to everyone. That’s exactly what Dr. Kate Lister, a lecturer in the School of Arts and Communication at Leeds Trinity University, spoke about in her viral thread on Twitter.

Kate asked her followers how old they were when they realized that their plan of being nice, working really hard, and taking on more than their share of tasks wouldn’t automatically be rewarded, was nonsense and wouldn’t actually work out. Scroll down to have a read what people tweeted back to Kate, as well as for Bored Panda’s interview with financial expert Sam Dogen, the founder of the Financial Samurai project, about how to deal with managers and how it’s vital to let them know about your achievements on a periodic basis.

Image credits: k8_lister

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BigOrangeTractor
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Dude just described my entire employed life. Self employed now and never going back. It's less secure but so much better in every other way.

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Kate’s thread was a massive success on Twitter. Her questions got a whopping 351.6k likes (that’s over a third of a million!) and was retweeted over 54k times. People opened up the difficulties they faced at work and exactly when they realized that being a dedicated worker who goes out of their way to do more than everyone simply isn’t enough. Not everyone is recognized for working hard. Though I personally still believe that discipline and working hard are the core reasons for success. Is that naive of me? Realistic? That’s for you to decide, dear Pandas.

Financial expert Sam, who runs the Financial Samurai blog, told Bored Panda more about what ‘managing managers’ actually means. In essence, it’s about constant communication and reminding our superiors of what we’re doing, what we’ve achieved, what our contribution to the company is.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I hear similar sentiments that my younger brothers' work mates have shared with him: they're afraid to take time off as it will damage their rep with the boss and affect the amount of over time they will be able to work to pay for the things in their life they can ill afford and have no time to enjoy. [They're in Canada. My brother's been with the company 20 years and now has the right to a month's annual leave...]

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is the worst one to me for some reason. Your monthly pay shouldn’t be confused for a weekly pay. Half of these things wouldn’t be a problem if minimum wage was a normal, decent wage. Like at least $20. Imagine trying to live on less than that. There’s just no way. Not even if you’re single.

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“Managing your manager entails keeping him or her abreast of what you are up to,” Sam explained that we should do our best to keep our superiors in the loop about our work as much as we can, without going into too much unnecessary detail.

“It means highlighting your key wins and reminding them at the end of the year about what you did in the first half of the year,” the expert pointed out that we have to periodically remind our bosses of what we’ve achieved so far. It’s something to keep in mind and you should probably take this into consideration, what with the end of the year approaching and all.

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mph seti
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yup. It's not about hard work, or even being talented. It's about who you know and where you come from.

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Ally R
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This! The last corporate job I had, my manager said she thought I could do more and take on more responsibility but for no pay increase all because I was doing a good job. I was contracted to work part time hours but kept creeping closer and closer to full time hours which resulted in me being stressed and had a full blown panic attack. The head of our department was surprised when I handed in my notice. Never ever give up more of your time for no pay.

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I was interested to get Sam’s take on whether we should be worried about leaving a paper trail about what we’ve done and what we’ve spoken about with our colleagues, managers, and bosses.

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“It is very important to keep everything in writing. Over time, we tend to forget our interactions,” Sam warned that we have to take the time to make copies of the most important interactions we’ve had at work. These can save our bacon if things go wrong. They can also remind our managers about any promises they made in the past.

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Evil Little Thing
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Sandberg made that s**t up. When people actually looked at the data, it turns out that while men are rewarded for asking for raises, women are more likely to be punished - forget being given the raise she asks for, she might get fired for asking!

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Quaumsy
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That shows just how little managers care about their employees, they just care about lining their pockets, and exploiting their workers to do it.

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Financial expert Sam noted that we tend to misremember things, so we shouldn’t rely just on our memories. Having documents, screenshots helps refresh your memory and get closer to the truth.

“By keeping things in writing, we can better remember situations and better argue for ourselves when it comes to asking for a raise and a promotion,” Sam said that when we have clear evidence of our work, our achievements, our input, it’s then easier to angle for a raise. The expert added that he’s got some great tips on how to deal with micromanagers which you can find on his blog, Financial Samurai, right here.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That stings! Something similar has happened to me a number of times... I have issues with unfairness.

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Marco Conti
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

My wife went through that a few times, especially for county and state jobs. Apparently they prefer to hire morons for those positions.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Yep, this is supported by research. https://www.forbes.com/sites/victorlipman/2013/04/25/the-disturbing-link-between-psychopathy-and-leadership/

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Jeff Shannon, an executive coach, has a similar point of view that we need to get our superiors to notice our work. He told BBC Worklife that hard work is a good start early in your career, but it’s not enough if you’re aiming for the top or want to avoid stagnating in your career.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Name and shame please. Plagiarism in academia is unforgivable. We need to know who this person is so we never cite them.

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“At a certain point, you look around and realize, wow, everyone works hard at this level. Expertise and hard work just become the expectation, and will not help you up the ladder,” he told the BBC. In short, a certain amount of office politics is inevitable if you want to rise in the ranks, get a proper raise, and see your hard work pay off.

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Monday
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This one doesn't really fit....being nice and working hard has never been the formula we use for relationships. It sucks for poor Ben definitely, but it doesn't really belong on the list.

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Marco Conti
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Free work for a business about to go under? That's why they sent 18YO in suicide attacks to face the machine guns in WWI. Too young to know better.

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That means getting noticed: advertising what you do and promoting yourself, so you don’t fly under the radar when it’s time for a promotion. Tell your manager that you want to keep them in the loop so it doesn’t look like boasting. Or, as Carol Frohlinger, the president of Negotiating Women, Inc., told the BBC, “If you don’t take care of your career, nobody else is going to do it.”

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Marco Conti
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Good. I hope you got a better one, although I am not optimistic about it. The way many women are treated in the workplace is a blight on our societies.

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Exactly this! This is part of why I wasn’t really ever able to advance a career. I literally had to make my own businesses to solve this paradox.

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chuck.dont.surf
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Y'all are missing the point. This is nepotism. Not only did they place their friends in management positions, they poured salt in the wound by having a server (who could have done the job and probably deserved it) train them.

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Schern Hanley
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

At 18,I was told I couldn’t work in a pet food store in the UK because I was going to get married and have children and that was not in their work ethic . I was too dumbstruck and naive to report them.

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Paul Davis
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I was told I couldn't be given a good review because policy would have required them to give me a raise they hadn't budgeted for.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Interesting Twitter handle... There definitely is a gender bias in the working world: males and females ARE treated differently in every field/profession/occupation, whether private or public. The OP now has the perspective from both PsOV.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Networking is the way to advancement today... in the old days it was schmoozing. If you aren't part of the "inner circle", you will not be rewarded. Many organisations, businesses and political entities are based on nepotism.

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James016
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

The effort and stress that goes into masking needs to be more widely known.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Try find acting roles in other countries or areas, make online content, etc. to get known. Just some ideas.

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Miss Frankfurter
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Don't do it anymore. If they ask you why you aren't doing that anymore, tell them you've started having a life.

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smugdruggler
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

They can only use you as a doormat if you lie there in the doorway. Unfortunately there are always people that will do whatever they can to keep you down there.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

That should not be possible (though I know it is a reality for many persons and families): unfortunately the work, benefits and pension systems are set up in such a way that people have to work long hours or multiple jobs to (try to) get by. [In my vision of a future, utopian world, I see safe, clean and comfortable housing; enough clean water and nutritious food; basic free health care and education; affordable and subsidised public transport and fairly paid employment for everyone regardless of gender, age etc. everywhere on this planet. A basic, decent human level of existence for all].

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Mewton’s Third Paw
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I think every person can remember something like this from teen or adult years. It’s happened to me too, and at the time I accepted it like it was just normal.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Tip 1. Take a bit longer to reply to email than you want to. Tip 2. Never take a decision without asking your immediate line manager. It makes them feel important. Tip 3. Turn off your phone after 7pm and leave a voice note saying "Unfortunately I do not take calls after office hours, please send a text if there is anything urgent." Tip 4. Discuss Tip3 with your manager so he knows you don't tolerate it. Tip5. Never answer email on a weekend. If you see an urgent email, use text to answer it. That means you train them to not email you. Once that training is done, get them used to slow text replies over a weekend. Tip6. If they phone at an inappropriate time, say "Sorry just busy having an intimate moment with my partner can you call back in an hour". They will stop.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

correct. You just get more peoples' work dumped on you. The only time initiative pays off is if you are the CEO or a salesperson.

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ZAPanda
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2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Bizarre. Sounds like a very insecure person. Start sending them links to therapy groups.

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Oskar vanZandt
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2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I don't think there's anything wrong with "making a little noise" to be heard when others overlook or disregard you for promotions, raises, etc. Standing up for yourself is an important life lesson to learn... and if your efforts fail, at least you can be proud of yourself for having been true to yourself.

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