Article #74 : Performance Punishment

Did you experience an instance wherein you were assigned more and more work just because you are a high performer?  Were you expected anytime to support or work for longer hours since you never say No to any work that comes your way? How about getting additionally scrutinized or criticized for your work although that piece of work was completely out of your scope? Well, if you encounter with any of these things personally or at least with someone in and around your workplace, then it means that you or that someone is undergoing Performance Punishment. 

As part of this article, we are going to understand this concept of Performance Punishment with the help of these chapters today. 

• Introduction 

• Real-time Examples 

• Reasons & Effects 

• Solutions 

• Conclusion 

Introduction: 

Performance punishment is embedded into many workplaces in their culture. It is the negative consequence that high performing individuals may face because of their exceptional productivity. In this phenomenon, individuals are expected to continually exceed expectations and meet increasingly high goals that can lead to burnout, decreased job satisfaction, and a decline in performance. This is because at the end of the day, human psychology never likes to be rewarded with more work and responsibility. Instead, it loves better designation or better promotion or better paycheck or better appreciation at least. There are cases wherein none of them would be provided to the employees which eventually drives them right out the door. 

The reality is that most of the additional responsibilities heaped onto the best employees are things that won’t meaningfully advance their careers. These are usually recurring tasks that someone else has failed to do well or do on time and are therefore falling into the laps of people who have demonstrated their ability to pull through at the last minute. They may be recognized for saving the day once or twice until it becomes the norm, at which point they’re now effectively doing someone else’s work for no greater reward or recognition. 

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.” 

Real-time Examples: 

Now, let me provide you some examples from real-time environment. 

One of my friends used to work in a project of a prestigious software company. He was offered an Infrastructure Development Manager role that had so many tasks to perform daily. There were 400 associates in the project. It is his sole responsibility to provide machines to all these people, to install all kinds of software on all these machines as and when required, to troubleshoot any issues that arise with respect to the system or applications for all these people, to manage physical servers, their upgrades, patches, anti-virus and even the Datacenter, to support internal, external and client audits, to support BCP drills, to prepare the required reports and documentation and so on. He was a great performer at work and that was the reason he was given the Performance punishment with more work. He was expected to follow-up with other teams and stakeholders for issues which were not under his scope. He was asked to login early and logout late as there were 400 people working in different timings and everyone needs his help, work on weekends as per the requirement and support even when he was on vacation or any kind of leave. He was blamed for things that he was not accountable for. He was criticized for not getting the work done on time which was not in his hands. Although he tried his best doing everything, he did not receive the deserving credit for his work. Instead, he was being involved in more and more such kinds of work which he never liked. Ultimately, he resigned.  

Another friend of mine used to work in a project that was on the verge of losing its client. There was lot of pressure on the project management from the client and they did not have the budget to keep enough resources. My friend was offered the role of a middleware admin support. He was exceptional in it. Within a span of one month, he was asked to take up the role of other application support along with the current role in the project. He started doing the same. Slowly, he was then put into customer coordination role on top of providing support for 2 applications. They did not keep any backup for all these kinds of roles. So, he was expected to extend his support coming to the office on weekends and providing on call support during leave. In fact, he was never allowed to take leave for more than 1 or 2 days. As soon as there was an escalation from the customer, the management simply used to pass the blame on him although it never used to be about his work. They kept on increasing his work without even giving him a good rating. He became frustrated for some days and resigned. 

Reasons & Effects: 

One reason that high performers may be more likely to experience performance punishment is because they are seen as an asset to the organization. As a result, they may be given additional tasks and responsibilities to maximize their contributions. However, this can also lead to feelings of being overwhelmed and a lack of work-life balance. 

Another reason that high performers may be subject to performance punishment is because they are held to higher standards than their peers. This can lead to feelings of unfair treatment and resentment, as they may feel that they are being held to an unattainable level of excellence. 

There are also social and cultural factors that can contribute to performance punishment. In some organizations, there may be a culture of overwork and a belief that working long hours is a sign of dedication and commitment. This can lead to a cycle of overworking, as high performers feel pressure to meet these expectations to be seen as valuable employees. 

The negative consequences of performance punishment can be significant. Overworking high performers can lead to burnout, which is characterized by feelings of exhaustion, decreased productivity, and a lack of motivation. It can also lead to physical and mental health problems, such as increased risk of heart disease and depression. 

Solutions: 

The solutions for Performance Punishment lies with both the employers and the employees. 

What employees can do? 

1. 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 

2. 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 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. 

3. Addressing Performance Punishment in the right ways 

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. Talking about the first way, 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. 

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.  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. 

What Employers can do? 

1. Chances to Underperformers 

When low performers are saved by the efforts of their overcommitted peers, both parties suffer: High performers experience resentment and burnout, while low performers continue to meet the same low standards that have been established for them. Neither person in this scenario is learning, improving, or advancing their career. It’s certainly more difficult and time-consuming, but unless you put people in the position to learn and rise to the occasion—especially when it’s a routine part of their job—they will never be able to demonstrate their ability to do better. 

2. Opportunities for High performers 

High performers will never have time for real growth opportunities if they’re endlessly bombarded by urgent requests. Even if your high performers are happy to accept the additional work thrown their way, this is stunting the development of your team on both ends of the performance spectrum. These arrangements may work for a while, even long-term, but inevitably there will come a time when you have a task only that high performer can complete. If their time is already monopolized by lesser tasks, and there’s no one else to step up, your only options are to either overcommit yourself or hire someone new. 

3. Culture of Work-life Balance 

In order to prevent performance punishment and the negative consequences of overworking high performers, it is important for organizations to create a culture of work-life balance and to set clear boundaries around work expectations. This may include setting limits on the number of hours that employees are expected to work, providing opportunities for flexible work arrangements, and encouraging employees to take time off when needed. It is also important for managers to recognize and acknowledge the contributions of high performers, and to provide support and resources to help them succeed. This may include providing training and development opportunities, as well as offering support for work-life balance and mental health. 

Conclusion: 

Overall, performance punishment is a significant issue that can have negative consequences for both individual employees and organizations. By creating a culture of work-life balance and supporting the well-being of high performers, organizations can prevent performance punishment and ensure that their most valuable employees are able to thrive. After all, prevention is always better than cure. What do you say? Let me know in the comments below.