“Overworked and Underestimated: How One Employee Turned a Punitive Lesson Into a Triumph!”
Some hard-working employees are incredibly efficient and get great results. However, their bosses ‘reward’ them only with additional tasks
Image credits: Pressmaster (Not the actual photo)
An internet user shared how they were given tons of busywork simply because they were good at their job and kept their desk tidy
Image credits: paegagz (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: paegagz (Not the actual photo)
Image credits: 68Cadillac
Additional work without any tangible benefits is going to end up reducing morale
Even if the team gets excellent results and gets their work done quicker, there are some bosses who hate seeing their employees twiddling their thumbs. In their mind, every single moment in the office should be spent for the benefit of the company or organization.
However, there are two issues here. First of all, thereâs only a limited amount of energy and focus that your average staff member can put into their work. After a certain point, theyâre unproductive and need rest. Especially where creative work is concerned.
Secondly, you have to consider what the tangible rewards for taking on additional work are. Is it a better salary and better career prospects? Or is it just more work, vague praise, and the promises of a promotion in five yearsâ time?
Even if you love your job and see purpose in what youâre doing, at a certain point, you have to ask yourself if itâs worth burning out for no reward. Meanwhile, your colleagues might be doing far less for the same salary and enjoying a far healthier work-life balance!
Look, weâre not saying that hard work or extra effort isnât valuable. It is! But letâs not be naive: not every manager likes over-achievers, and some want to punish them for their success. Meanwhile, you need to prioritize your own welfare.
Your career is going to be a very long marathon, no matter if you plan on climbing the corporate ladder or avoiding it entirely. You want to avoid burnout as much as possible. But that’s hard to do if management is hellbent on getting results and lacks empathy.
Burnout is a massive, widespread problem among working adults
One survey by Deloitte found that 77% of all employees have experienced burnout at their current job. Over half admitted that this has happened more than once.
A âFuture Forumâ report found that 42% of 10,243 global workers reported burnout in February 2023. Flexibility (or rather a lack of it) has a lot to do with this. The report noted that employees who are dissatisfied with their level of flexibility are 43% more likely to feel burned out.
Fortune reports that 82% of workers are at risk of burnout this year, as many employers donât design work with their staffâs well-being in mind.
Meanwhile, a Cigna International Health survey from 2023, which looked at 12,000 employees from all around the planet, found that younger workers are more affected by workplace stress. 91% of 18 to 24-year-olds were stressed, compared to the average of 84%.
Learning to stand up for your own interests, and enforcing healthy boundaries, is a must in a corporate environment
The author of the post shared a few thoughts on why some managers might believe that their employees should be busy every single moment of the workday. Though, they added a caveat, that these are just speculations, as they’ve never managed people directly before.
