A recent TikTok from the business coach sparked discussion about workplace expectations. He claimed that highly competent employees can be punished with additional work instead of being rewarded for their performance.
@zerodollarcoaching said managers and business owners often assign important and urgent tasks to their most competent employees. These are employees they believe will rise to the occasion and complete the task quickly and efficiently.
They are also often the first employees contacted during an emergency because managers know they can get the job done. Naturally, these tasks aren’t going to be assigned to a rookie or to someone who’s got a few months in.
@zerodollarcoaching Your best employee is probably doing everyone else’s work. That’s what happens when being dependable becomes the reward for being dependable. Great employees don’t usually hate hard work. They hate watching mediocre employees get less work because nobody trusts them to handle more. #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeManagement #Leadership
♬ original sound - Zero Dollar Coach
In the video, he said, “Somehow, being really good at your job turns into doing everybody else’s job, too.” According to the business coach, managers and business leaders often justify assigning additional work to employees who are already overworked.
He used a hypothetical employee named ‘Sarah’ to illustrate his point. Now Sarah not only completed her task, but she also completed the task no one asked her to do and forgot about. She also took on her colleague’s work and was responsible for training a new employee.
According to the TikToker, the reason the individual was given so much was that “Competence is a disease we’re trying to spread.” He then drew a contrast between Sarah and another colleague whom he named ‘Mike.’
The coach contrasted Sarah with Mike, whom he described as doing just enough to avoid being fired while relying on Sarah for help. He argued that companies make mistakes when they allow this dynamic to continue.
TikTokers Shared Their Own Experiences With Workplace Burnout
The expert mentioned that instead of fair compensation and recognition of efforts, workers are handed more responsibilities that become mentally and physically straining. He urged listeners about how “backwards” it actually is.
He said, “We accidentally teach our best people that excellence comes with a penalty.” He said employees who perform less consistently can avoid additional responsibilities by keeping expectations low.
The video on TikTok went viral and was viewed 1.4 million times and liked 73,000 times as of publication. Several users said they could relate to the experience of becoming the ‘go-to’ employee and taking on additional work.
One user described what happened after setting a boundary around their workload, they wrote, “(The) worst part is, when you finally set a boundary, you get fired.” Others who identified with the ‘Sarah’ example said similar experiences led them to quit their jobs.
Commenters shared experiences of taking on additional work without receiving additional compensation or recognition. The comments raised questions about how employers should recognize employees who consistently take on additional work.
The Daily Dot could not independently verify the claims shared in the TikToker's account. The details above reflect the views and examples as described by @zerodollarcoaching on TikTok.
