High performers are sometimes punished with more work. Here’s how to avoid getting quiet promoted

You’re flourishing in your career, you’re performing brilliantly, and your credibility is soaring. But there can be a negative side to this experience: When you’re so effective, you can be saddled with even more work.

When the reward for great work is more work, it can feel more like a punishment than a perk. Some call this phenomenon “quiet promoting.” 

Unfortunately, many leaders make the mistake of overloading and overworking great performers. So how do you cope, set boundaries, or say no without undermining your career? There are a few key strategies you can use.

Be proud of your strong performance 

As you figure out how to navigate the waters of performance punishment, first congratulate yourself on your great accomplishment. Despite the narrative that work is all negative and nothing but a grind, it can be a perfectly healthy, positive, and productive way to express your skills, learn, grow, and contribute to those around you.

According to a study by LiveCareer, 87% of people believe work is an important part of their lives, and 88% say their work is meaningful and they enjoy it. In addition, 85% of respondents say they are satisfied with their work.

Performing well at work is often correlated with happiness, fulfillment, and satisfaction, so know that you’re contributing to your well-being on many levels when you’re investing in your work and success. 

Understand your manager’s intentions

Remind yourself that while too much work can feel terrible, it’s usually assigned with good intentions. Many leaders see a great performer and overestimate what they can accomplish—because great performers make things look easy. You see problems and solve them, you take initiative and you work efficiently—all of this can create a false impression that your work takes less effort than it does.

Leaders also tend to assign additional projects as a (misguided) way to reward great performers. They might believe that giving workers bigger projects and opportunities will improve happiness and retention. They may think they are actually helping to create the conditions for meaningful work and growth. Overall, their execution may be poor—overloading you with work—but they very well may be taking action for the right reasons. They likely respect your skills and capability and want to reward you and help you grow. 

Of course, if their intentions aren’t positive, it may be a sign that you are working in a negative environment. If this is the case, you may want to consider your options and begin searching for other roles inside or outside your organization. 

How to manage performance punishment

You can address the challenge of performance punishment in two ways. There may be times when you go ahead and take on extra work. In that case, your best solution is to manage your mindset. In other circumstances, you may want to say no to extra work—and you’ll want to find ways to refuse with grace. Here are a few of the approaches you can take: 

Take on the work.
There will be times when you want to take on the extra work, and you can do this intentionally and feel positive about it. For example, you may realize that a bit of extra work contributes to your credibility and demonstrates commitment. Remind yourself of how you’re enhancing your personal brand and hope that your hard work will lead to a promotion and pay off in the long run.

There also may be times when you say yes to additional work because it’s easier than saying no. Sometimes, it’s less time consuming to just perform a task rather than negotiating, discussing, or re-scoping a project. Or, there may be situations where it’s easier to do something yourself than to get someone else up to speed, wait for their work, and then need to edit it. 

It is completely understandable to take on more work for reasons like these. 

Provide transparency.
While there may be times when you decide to take on extra work, you may also have situations when you really need to say no. This can be hard if you’re early in your career or seeking approval from people who have power over your advancement. But you can apply your strengths to managing this dynamic as well.

If you would like to reject new work, the first thing I suggest is that you take steps to make sure your work is seen. Find ways to track your work on an ongoing basis so that your boss can see not only your results, but also the steps you took and the work you did to accomplish them. You’ll want to use your judgment on how to show your work without getting defensive or too deeply into the minutia, but with enough detail to demonstrate your hard work. You may make your work look effortless, but you want to give transparency into your time and investments.

If your boss asks you to do an additional project, you also can clearly communicate the accommodations you will need to make. For instance, rather than saying “no” outright, let your boss know that you can’t get to the new item immediately but that you can address it in the future (for example, two weeks from now). Or, respond to the expectation for new work by positioning a trade-off: you can take on the new project by putting aside another project in the meantime.

Also, consider bringing others in. You may be assigned more work because you’re seen as the best resource or the superstar on the team. While it’s nice to bask in this glory, you can help yourself and others by suggesting how you can train and bring teammates into a project. Involving team members, coaching them, and providing recognition can help you spread the wealth—and the responsibilities.

Prioritize work you care about.
Another way to handle performance punishment is to get ahead of the initiatives your boss is assigning by taking on responsibilities that are meaningful to you. Sometimes, performance-punishment tasks are frustrating because they feel like they’re not within your own control. But if you stay in touch with people throughout the organization and stay attuned to high-priority efforts, you can raise your hand to contribute to something that holds your interest. Check with your leader and ensure their support, of course, but then fill your plate with things that are your own choices—leaving no room for the assignments that may be of less interest to you.

Overall, be open with your leader about your passions, interests, and how you want to develop. Be clear about skills you believe you possess and those you want to build. When your leader is trying to reward you for great effort or give you growth opportunities, this kind of information will inform their assignments so they’re best for you as well as the organization.

Try to meet with your manager often so you can share information about what’s working well and where you need help or support. Proactively schedule one-on-one discussions so you have a regular checkpoint and can raise a flag about your workload without calling a special meeting. Keep the lines of communication open and talk about your workload and your results as a matter of course.

Fortunately, the benefits of being a strong performer often outweigh the drawbacks. Doing great work is one of the best things you can do for your career. In the meantime, fine-tune your time management, communication, and prioritization skills to make sure the projects you are assigned are fulfilling, rather than punishing.