Are people punished for being capable and hard-working?

Question

My husband started a new job a year ago; he's really good at it and very conscientious . . . with the result that he'll get scheduled to work extra overnight shifts, because he's the only one who can be depended on to show up. He's a really sweet guy and gets great customer service marks . . . so he gets assigned to prepare briefings about how to give good service. He does most of the cleaning up, because no one else seems to care about it being messy, and he gets called in when other people flake out. Should he stop trying to be a good worker? Would that help?

I guess my real question is, "What's wrong with the world?" Does anyone know?

Answer 1

If he is a hard worker AND motivated towards advancing and not just a glorified janitor / secretary then he will advance.  Hard work, ambition, and competence will take him a long way.  But you really have to have all three in my opinion.

Answer 2

You pretty much hit the nail on the head.  When someone is capable and hard-working, they sometimes get taken advantage of in the ways your husband is.  Sometimes, though, the company recognizes the worker's talents and they also receive promotions and raises at review time.  I think the trick is to find a company that appreciates these qualities and doesn't just take them for granted.  

I don't think your husband should start slacking off now, because he's already demonstrated his work ethic and skills.  What I recommend is for him to ask for raises that reflect the extra time he puts in and efforts he makes, and maybe a promotion to supervisor or manager.  If that is not possible and  he is still unhappy, I would definitely look for a place that would appreciate my work ethic and efforts.

Answer 3

the world is ****** up

Answer 4

i would hope that is in line for a promotion, or at least he is getting good reviews. I was in a similar situation, i was very good at my job, but my bosses (middle management) were all friends with the managers directly under them, so I got stuck with the responsibilities and the middle of the road performance reviews, while my lazy coworkers got to come in late and got higher raises. work is not fair. right now i would love to have that job, i have been unemployed since the beginning of the year, with little hope in sight.

Answer 5

i follow my crazy girlfriend around, buy her lots of stuff and jump when she snaps her fingers. Contrary to what you might think, this will not help me. This shows weakness and balance of power. They may lead you along with promises of a manager position but you know. Someone else might have more power, talent and influence. They don't need to jump through hoops to get promotions. At my job the biggest slacker that my boss hates gets promoted to on air DJ position because he's another DJ's son. I come in early, do the work and am the go to guy in my department. I did not get the DJ job, and I got passed up for a promotion in my dept. I think that was more based on a personality decision but doing them favors doens't get you jack, anyone telling otherwise is a user or the used. I get paid for what I do and i won't take any unreasonable requests.

Answer 6

He shouldn't stop trying to be a good worker, my husband is pretty much in the same boat. It seems the more he does the harder his supervisor is on him. He's been in the same job for almost ten years. He had had it though, cause now he's job hunting. The final straw was about 6 weeks ago. He got hurt on the job. They did NOT pay for it, they did not give him any time off for it, and they wrote him up for it, and it isn't even something he could control. His feet are very large. He drives a rather small forklift. his feet don't exactly fit in the area that your supposed to put your feet. anyway for the first time in almost ten years he didn't check the swinging door as he was backing out of the vault, and managed to get his foot caught between the forlift and the door. It didn't break his foot, but it did squash it almost to the point of breaking, the doctor said it was to be treated like a break. And they wrote him up for it. Well its going to be their loss, because when he actually gets to have his days off, all his co-workers tell him how badly everone else performs on the forklift when he is not there, and they always dread him being off. So they are really going to be upset when he finds a new job.

Answer 7

i reward hard work from my employees. i rate progress and calculate that into promotions and raises. he sounds like he would be in my high raise bracket and next in line for a promtion. employers can tell the difference between a good worker, a bad work and a great worker. hard workers fall short in my book just a little. he should work smarter and less harder.  he needs to get the other guys to pull their slack if they are as bad as you say, if he doesnt have the will do that, he is going to be the hard worker and not the great worker. he should teach, train, motivate and develope co workers

the world just needs more guys like yours to be running businesses.

Answer 8

This is pretty common, and it's why I hated hated HATED "group assignments" in school, and later on "team projects" in various jobs. Invariably there are one or two hard workers, and the rest are a bunch of lazy slackers who are content to sit back and let the few take care of the many. However, when credit time rolls around, you can be sure the slackers are the first to jump up and bask in the praise.

He shouldn't stop being a good worker, but perhaps he should ask his job to recognize his added contributions, in the form of a raise.

Answer 9

The problem with the world or at least this country is that there is no incentive for doing the right thing. I know people who have worked their butts off since they were 16 to pay for their own cars, gas, clothes, etc.. They are behaving a s afunctional and productive members of society but when they went and asked for a student loan they were turned down because they made too much money. Now take the lady down the street that has 5 kids with 5 different men. The gov't. wouldn't think twice about giving her money for school. How the h**l is that fair? I will tell you. IT's NOT! all of that aside, I don't think your husband is being mistreated. They just know who they can count on and it sounds like he is the only one. The thing is, he should get compensated for it or it will start to feel like he is being taken advantage of. That's the it is these days. It sucks!

Answer 10

It's not the world, it's the tactics of letting yourself get used and expecting your good work to speak for itself. Most of the people that get laid off are those who expect that. Most of the people who get promoted are those who skillfully toot their own horn.

Answer 11

If he feels he is being taken advantage of then he needs to stand up and say something to his boss.  He should express that he knows he is dependable and a good worker, but he has a life and cannot go on being the "go to" guy all the time.  He could also ask for a raise.

Answer 12

Darlin' . . . there's an 'ole saying about the "type" of employee your husband is.  It goes like this:

   "Find a 'work horse' and work them to death!"

I'm NOT saying it's a FAIR "saying".  But it's the applicable one in the work force.  Very few people are WORTH what they're being paid.  MOST employees will only barely meet their expectation to their bosses; just enough NOT to get fired "for cause".   MOST employers KNOW this, too.  SO-O-O-O-O. . . when they DO find a "WORK HORSE", they'll generally work them to death (metaphorically speaking, of course) to get a job done.  And here's the "really" sad fact of life. . .they aren't, necessarily, the ones that get promoted, either.  

Employers are ALWAYS going to go for the ones that have a "take charge attitude" and appear to be "in control" and represent "the company" the best.  And all those qualities are cumulative, not exclusive, of each other.

I've know some pretty "inept" managers before that really had NO business being managers; they just LOOKED THE PART!  

And that's where that 'ole saying comes from:

   "Dress for the job you want. . .not the one you're applying for."

Sorry. . . it's just a v-e-r-y sad fact of life.  Your husband may very well climb the corporate ladder for his efforts. . .but. . .more than likely. . .HE'S JUST GOING TO GET USED!!!!!!

And I've been on BOTH sides of the "fence"; the employee AND the employer!

Answer 13

people over 40 are targeted to lose their jobs in our country

because the bottom line is less employees/supplies more $

pockets bigwigs although there are exceptions this treatment

of employees fosters the bad work habits etc...

do what your heart tells you is right;you can never go wrong

remembering you are you;not others

Mother Teresa once said "it was never betwn me and them;

it was betwn me and God" isn't that cool? keep up the good

work you 2

Answer 14

The person you should be asking these questions to, is your husband. Is HE happy doing what he is doing? Are YOU happy with him working all of the extra overtime and being called in?

If either of you answer No to either of these questions, you should both re-look his job.

I have found that the younger people's work ethic is severely changed from what was in place just 10 years ago. Now it is more about the "What is in it for me?" versus, "Let's pull together, get this done so that we can goof off!"

I work with individuals who will call in, because they went drinking the night before and can't perform to the standard that is needed. Or, because they just want another day off.

My job requires that we have at least a minimum number of people on hand, so that we can perform our tasks in a safe manner and we can all go home in one piece at the end of our shift.

When we have people who just decide, s***w it, I don't want to work today, and call in, it puts all of us that are there at a higher risk.

I have felt that on occasion, I have been taken advantage of because I will always show up for work. I see others who do less get more "bennies" so to speak as well. It makes for very low moral.

Sit down and talk with your husband and the two of you should discuss what you percieve and what he percieves and go from there.

Answer 15

Same exact problem with my boyfriend. He is SUH a hard worker. And because of this, they take advantage of him,and his kindness. They'll make him clean up after the employees who left before him, call him in the dead of night to pick up an abandoned shift, and change his schedual without telling him,because they know he;s too nice to complain. They also make him do heavy duty stock work that the stock employees get 3-4 dollars MORE, per hour. But he is still stuck with his hourly wage. Even when they ask him to cover for a floor sales manager, who earns about 17 dollars an hour, he still get 8. It's sick, it seems so wrong.

Answer 16

after a few years in the work world I quickly learned that hard work and results have little to do with success with the boss or company acknowledgement.

Answer 17

I have been told in the past to turn that question around.

Circumstances only account for about 20 percent of what happens to us - the other 80% is our reaction to them.

I sense its time to ask for a raise for the extra responsibility. Every job gets old after about six months. Perhaps there is another position he would like to try.

Slacking off is never the solution. Look - no matter what we all have to work; if he doesn't like what he is doing then find another position where he can grow as a person.

Best regards. Hope it all works out.

Answer 18

Who knows, it might pay off. If he's the only hard worker, he'll be the first to get a manager position.

Answer 19

Yes. The hardworking and conscientious do get put upon, taken for granted and by-passed. That's the way of the world. It's this precious 5% who keep the wheels turning in any organisation, country. But If my guess is right (based on personal experience) your husband would simply NOT be able to slack off, or take it easy. And as the others have said, be true to yourself, your self-worth and you are at peace with the world. Recognition can come in many subtle ways - don't demean it to a wage rise or promotion. And remain true to yourself - that's my mantra. After all, at the end of the day, one has to live with oneself.

Answer 20

The capable are punished because they make the boss look bad for having so many other s***w-ups.

Answer 21

The question here is what does your husband want?

Does being a good worker make him feel good or not?

Second question, do you feel good about the world, and how does this affect how happy you are.

If he feels good and you don`t (IF), then you can look forward to a mismatch.  He might even want to put in more hours in order to not have to go home to someone who is not happy.

It sounds to me that he is learning about business and his experience may sooner than later enable himself to start his own.  So what is wrong with that?

And, oh yes, the world is perfect, this is perfect, that is perfect, take perfect from perfect and the result is perfect,  etc.  You are free to choose, take your pick and enjoy it.

Answer 22

i have his same problem,i guess thats his chracter,advice him to be himself what ever the world is  bad around him,god is watching