Overworked, underpaid, but soon to be promoted
Here we are again with the latest in silent workplace phenomenons, but if you play this one right it could help get your next big role.
Here we are again with the latest in silent workplace phenomenons, but if you play this one right it could help get your next big role.
A quiet promotion, when an employee does more work without a new title or salary package, may be the "curse of the competent" but it will help you climb the corporate ranks.
Leadership and Workplace Culture expert Tammy Tansley tells The Oz it’s “a sign of the times" and even a reward for those who aren't quiet quitting.
“Employers are trying to do more with less – both as recessionary and financial pressures hit, and as result of the “great resignation”,” she elaborates.
As popular TikTok creators focus on "being paid for the work you do", Tansley said this is natural corporate progression.
“That’s how people learn and grow in the workplace–much more than formal training programs” Tansley says.
A third of Gen Z and Millennials appreciate opportunities to learn beyond their immediate remit, according to a global survey conducted by Deloitte.
Jonathon Woolfrey, Managing Partner of Talenting, a human resource solutions provider, personally felt his career of quiet promotions "definitely helped [him] rise through the ranks and take on extra roles down the line."
Calling it the “curse of the competent”, Woolfrey suggests a quiet promotion happens in times when an employee demonstrates their highly skilled in their current role, but also when labour shortages arise within a company, and organisations seek for more “efficient” ways to counter the absence of staff.
Woolfrey says early in his career, he was gradually given responsibilities that fell outside his job description and “a year or two later it resulted in a restructure where those gradual duties resulted in a new role.”
Both Tansley and Woolfrey agree there is a looming “grey area” where employees are given new responsibilities with no roadmap for advancement.
While keen younger generations are inclined to take on new responsibilities, just under half of both Gen Z and millennials are 'burnt out' according to Deloitte.
Woolfrey says a good “indicator” of taking on too much is assessing how often you’re unable to complete your additional workload outside of the traditional “9-5 [or] whatever structure is typical for your role.”
“If you can’t get it done in your general work day on an ongoing basis, or continues in a time when your workforce is stable, then it’s an issue worth addressing as it’s clearly not sustainable.”
Optimising your quiet promotion
- Having a conversation with your manager about how long you can expect to be taking on more work
- Giving them a period of time where you expect a change to happen - be it hiring a new person to help with the load, or receiving a promotion (and pay bump) that addresses the increase in labour
- Worst case scenario, build up your skillset and take it to another organisation willing to value it - with remuneration and a better title
The work-related semi-silent trends
- How to know if you're being quiet fired
- Or maybe you'd just rather quiet quit (it's mostly a bad idea though)
- But you should really know if you're getting quiet dumped
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