Recent events and observations have left me wondering, do people who are hard workers and consistently deliver, are they punished in the end? Perhaps I am getting cynical, but I have found myself both being involved in and witnessing circumstances where, in corporate America, how much is work ethic REALLY rewarded?

To start, I believe that it is pretty easy to identify hard workers out of a group or even on an individual basis. Within a team, there are always those who will get by and those who do nothing but deliver good work consistently. Not only do those within the team recognize where people fall within that spectrum, but supervisors have to be cognizant of this as well.

So if that is the case what happens….
If you work hard and produce good turnarounds, the result your boss gives you more work, bigger projects, tighter deadlines. While the demand at first is a compliment, you become more stressed, more spread out, and it wears on you when you run on all cylinders at all time.

What does it really get you in the end?

In comparison to your peers, you end up with more stress and more accountability. And for that you may (and this is not guaranteed) get more money for the hardship, but you always have to weigh whether the stress and encroachment on your life is worth that money.

You will also undoubtedly gain the respect of your peers, supervisors, and perhaps even upper management, which obviously is a good thing in terms of reputation, but what is it worth? Being reliable and dependable is a reward in its own right, but you have to have something that is tangible to make it feel all worthwhile.

Could working hard put you in a direct line for a promotion? Perhaps, it could as long as no other corporate politics get in the way. I have noticed on far too frequent of an occasion that politics play a role in who gets what. If career development and promotions were based solely on performance, it would be a direct motivation tool for working hard. The reality I have found is that too many other things come into play when it comes to career advancement. It would be nice to know that if you work hard you will get rewarded and not worry about competing with someone who knows the right people or who has simply, been there longer.

So, I am caught up in a dilemma. For me, I cannot do anything other than a good job. I wouldn’t be satisfied with the work I produce if it were sub par. In the end though, if I consistently work hard, what is left and what do I gain? Do I want all of the stress without a direct tie-in for reward? What do you think?