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Is there a reason to work beyond "just enough not to get fired?"

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freedomsbeat212 said:
I have yet to see anyone here get a merit based promotion... When the executive of the database team did they promote anyone? Nah, they hired someone new. When we needed a new senior web manager did they promote anyone? Nope.. New person.. Marketing manager left - yep, new hire...
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Welcome to the modern white-collar workforce.

Want to move up? Get as much education as you can, get a few successful projects under your belt, build up a portfolio of you work if possible, and always be on the lookout for better opportunities.
 
lxskllr said:
I don't bust ass at work. All that does is burn you out, and it becomes expected with no compensation. I do my job correctly, and at my own pace. I refuse to kill myself for any company.
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That's one of the biggest drawbacks of working hard. You work hard and finish stuff earlier, they pile more stuff onto you since they see you require less time to complete projects. As a salaried employ, they basically treat you like a rented mule, trying to draw out everything you can give them for the salaried paycheck (no pay for overtime).
 
Work at a company that has merit based promotions? At my company people that work hard and are smart are/were promoted in under a year. People that suck either get fired or take years to get promoted (if they try to make themselves not suck)
 
Problem is, the break point of keep/let go, and the conditions that affect it, are always changing. So it is wise to try to stay substantially north of that point.

.bh.
 
SunnyD said:
You've been reading far too much Dilbert.
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No unfortunately it is real. WE had a guy quit last year for greener pastures. Management loved him and thought he was a networking god. We all hated him because he kept screwing crap up. He was good at hiding his mistakes and making management think he fixed a big problem all on his own.
 
Depends on the company/situation. My previous 2 companies sucked (both fortune 500). I worked my ass off for nothing. I then went into the mode of only doing the bare minimum without getting fired.

Now that I am out on my own, I work my ass off. I eat what I kill, and I like to eat.
 
freedomsbeat212 said:
I have yet to see anyone here get a merit based promotion... When the executive of the database team left did they promote anyone? Nah, they hired someone new. When we needed a new senior web manager did they promote anyone? Nope.. New person.. Marketing manager left - yep, new hire...
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Did anyone take the initiative or did everyone just sit back and wait for a promotion to land in their lap?

You have to advocate for yourself. You will be amazed what happens when you stop being lazy and take risks.
 
After 9 years doing software development, I've found that the only way to move up is to change employers. Of course, YMMV. I'm sure that it's different if you work for a tech company. Most of my time has been spent with manufacturing companies, where software(and IT in general) is a tool, not the product.
 
freedomsbeat212 said:
I have yet to see anyone here get a merit based promotion... When the executive of the database team left did they promote anyone? Nah, they hired someone new. When we needed a new senior web manager did they promote anyone? Nope.. New person.. Marketing manager left - yep, new hire...
Click to expand...

Did you even apply for the new position?

Leave the company if you're not moving up and you want to. I have always overachieved my entire career and i've always moved up, whether it be through internal promotions or me finding another company to work for.
 
Patranus said:
Did anyone take the initiative or did everyone just sit back and wait for a promotion to land in their lap?

You have to advocate for yourself. You will be amazed what happens when you stop being lazy and take risks.
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Of course - some people were so annoyed that they left themselves, after they pushed and pushed... Were they qualified? Surely more than the person that replaced him.
 
personally i believe it is up to the person and their work ethic for a while then the company's effects take over. sometimes i feel like the dumbass for having a good work ethic as when i worked for the usps (job) while going to school (for career) i took that work ethic there and busted my ass every day - i figure if i do a job i may as well do it to the best of my abilities - ended up permantely disabled from multiple repetitious movement injuries which led to not being able to finish school and being locked out of the post office and put on ssd. guess i can only blame myself since only about 5% of the usps people actually work hard, the rest do what you do, but i am the one disabled, so maybe i should have taken your route and just done the bare minimum....
 
JS80 said:
Did you even apply for the new position?

Leave the company if you're not moving up and you want to. I have always overachieved my entire career and i've always moved up, whether it be through internal promotions or me finding another company to work for.
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Other people have applied and been passed up. The fun new thing my company does - they don't even post job listings anymore, they just go directly to the head hunters and fill positions most people didn't even know were available!
 
Nope - it's not life. It's how things are once you work for a company that evolves to a certain size - you then become nothing more than a person with an employee ID#.
 
After my first job, I got a more "professional" attitude, that is, my time is worth $x/hour and the company is going to get whatever they pay for. While I do a good job overall, I won't go the extra-distance for them.

Not that I'm against going the extra-mile, but if a company wants their employees to go the extra mile, then the company also has to go the extra mile and that's very rarely the case. In my case, I use my extra time and energy to learn new stuff and work on my own projects.
 
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