PS: Are you tired of being a pushover who struggles to say no (or shut down toxic coworkers) at work? I'm running a free mini course starting this week - you can sign up at thecorporatevillain.com
WARNING‼️ I’m about to rant lol…Most corporate jobs I have worked for have been very toxic. I felt like I was in high school all over again surrounded by lame cliques. They promote who they WANT to promote! The person can be the absolute devil and still get promoted over someone who is way more skilled and professional. This is something I will never understand and don’t want to understand. Corporate America to me is all about company politics. The most miserable people are in these management roles. I still love and learn a lot from your videos😊
I'm always here for a rant. And I totally understand your frustration - because I've had the same frustration. My brain is super justice oriented and I have low tolerance for systems that aren't fair. And the current corporate power dynamics are not fair at all. But that's why I think creating these videos and educating people is important - because I think we have the power to learn the systems, play the game, and change the rules to create a more fair world. Each of us individually creates a collective shift.
@@JenniferBrick I was the only one who did not know that there was a game to play and office politics (banking) until i found YOU, thank you so much Jennifer!!
One big reason you get bypassed for promotion is: (in one word) threat. NO one likes competition in the workplace. VERY few Managers--male or female btw--are going to promote someone who is more competent than they are. If you do an excellent job, your Manager may want to keep you in your place because they don't want to lose you by promoting you. And of course, how well they personally like you is VERY important. That's definitely a factor too.
People don't get it that promotion has nothing to do with performance in 9 out of 10 cases. This is why you need to promote yourself. Take on more responsibility, learn more skills, then get a better job with a better salary. End of story.
@@ForgottenKnight1 You should re-read your comment!! First sentence you said job promotion has NOTHING to do with performance. THEN: you list EVERYTHING related to job performance!!! You must be in management in some form. No, I have too much job experience to NOT know your comment is total BS. People get romoted based on who they know, who likes them MUCH more than on job performance.
More than so: this ”new star” is likely to stress a number of your weakneses, real or made up. That strategy is much faster than having to demonstrate actual progress or skills.
@@pabloseykata6930 Yes, because at a company you do not decide when you get promoted, your manager does. And if your manager is an asshole, it's bye bye promotion, you can have 150% performance. So, the solution is, as I said, to get a better job.
Sadly, you are right. On the other hand, healthy relationships are balanced. If quiet quitting is doing quality work for about 40 hours per week at a reasonable pace and not going above and beyond because the company doesn’t care about you and isn’t invested in you, quiet quitting is not quitting - it is accepting.
To be successful at work, you need to be able to *_"Work well with your boss and to your other co-workers"_* This is just a toned down expression or saying of *_"You gotta learn how to suck up to your boss and be a sociopath to your other co-workers"_* Being good, competent and exceptionally skilled at one's job will never make you a success if you are at odds with your immediate boss and the company who pays for your services. Incompetent employees move ahead because they know how to play the game with the bosses.
Lol, you don’t have to be a sociopath, just be a cool, normal person, make it known that you want to be promoted, and don’t overshare on politics, sex etc.
It all comes down to nepotism. My boss told me I had already gotten a promotion, along with some of the other collegues. Never heard back from him, never got the promotion. Turns out they only promoted the people they personally liked and/or were older than 30, even though some of them had been on sick leave for months and I had worked the whole time. Funny thing is one of the guys who got promoted ended up leaving a few months after.
Most managers won't promote people they don't like - the exception is where the manager is politcally savvy enough to know when promoting that person will advance their own career.
@@JenniferBrick Sure that exception is fine, but it doesn't apply here when they already said they had given me a promotion. That's just pure deception or mismanagment.
The collateral damage of these unwarranted promotions spread far and wide. Not only within the company but with vendors, stakeholders and customers as well.
Staff are people. They don’t want threats. If you’re great, chances are you’re irreplaceable and also a threat; so managers want you kept down where you are. Also if you’re gay or something, stop fooling yourself; Budweiser lost a billion dollars using a trans sponsor. Companies will find any excuse to make you think you’re not good enough, are a problem, and are recklessly risking your job
One thing I've learned over the years is I probably won't get promoted because of my honesty and bluntness. I am who I am and I'm a bit old school in that I believe in being honest, direct, be a good and reliable employee, and never kiss ass. It's worked rather well for me since now I'm in a job with a decent salary and my managers are more old school in that they appreciate blunt honesty. Sometimes it just takes finding the right job to fit in....other times, you might be better off just building a business of your own if you're awesome at what you do.
I'm borderline inappropriately honest and extremely blunt to. Like you said, i think it's important to find the right environment where that's not just accepted but seen as an advantage.
You know what. You shouldn't worry about that kind of stuff it's just going to eat you up from the inside. If you enjoy your job, just enjoy it and don't let the soul suckers at the top destroy you. If you're short of cash did you ever think of getting a side gig? Between my work and freelance I actually make more than my manager and I'm not working extra hours either (thanks to home office). Anyway the most important thing is don't let others get you down.
It really feels hopeless. I recently got myself into another position at my corporate company. Used to work in film/TV, but life happened, the pandemic happened, and I find myself in a call center doing the most mundane, bs, non-important, repetitive to the point of insanity, job that I would probably have concocted in an actual nightmare. I am going on over a year. I was one of the top performers in my department, but I got so burnt out and I was starting to make it VERY CLEAR that I wanted to move into another space. It's hard to leave this company because I get good benefits and get to work from home, but deep down, I feel like I am 10000% screwing myself staying here. Not earning good money, and recently pretty much took a pay cut when I successfully got them to promote me into another, "lateral," position where I'm not doing what I was, which was making me nuts. But I do feel like it's a losing battle here. I am giving myself until October to get some ducks in a row and look for another job. I don't think they'll ever actually promote me. I am not a Chad, or a Tiffany, or whatever hot/sassy/smart chick I need to embody just to be recognized. It makes me feel bad about myself. Like I am not good enough, pretty enough, etc. because let's be real, when it comes to being a woman in these spaces, a lot of it comes down to the way you are viewed, sexually and superficially. I am honestly not even sure what to do anymore. Sigh.
I'm sorry you're dealing with this Lindsey. We can't ignore the role pretty privilege plays for the women who do get ahead, especially for patriarchal women. I'm off the strong opinion that if the opportunities you want aren't where you are, to find somewhere they are. I'd love to see you focus on seeing how awesome you are so these feelings of not enoughness dissapate, or at least don't play so loudly. Confidence is a reality shifter. Sending you vibes friend 💜
The only way this really ends is being your own boss. I got two yearly reviews: both exceeded expectations for doing my job. One I saved a $2mm account. One didn't give me a raise, and the other cut my hours. So, I just scaled up my ecom store and started taking on clients.
Getting these high visibility projects and roles is not easy though and are often due to arbitrary reasons such as the boss being in close proximity to one of the workers (esp if you are a satellite location worker) or the boss just straight up favoring this other person right off the bat when you both got hired for the same position. If you arent assigned to high visibility tasks and you are just tasked with doing behind-the-scenes stuff, it is VERY hard to demonstrate impact.
One thing to consider: what highly visible work can you create for yourself? If your boss is gatekeeping, there's other ways to elevate your visibility.
At a recent job my excellent relationship with my immediate & regional manager offset my strained one with my district manager. I was promoted & knew the DM was neutered a bit because I had backing from the RM. I liked the unspoken power I had & security. Thanks Jennifer 😊
Sorry, I have to disagree with this, based on my nearly 30 years of experience. If Tommy got promoted even if he was not a hard worker, not very competent, and with poor performance. In my experience if Tommy gets promoted just because he did little things that higher management liked, this means that management is totaly disregarding and overlooking the team members, or in few words, the company is having unqualified managers. . Good managers have good sensitivity to identify those the perform better, have better results, have better work ethics, and compromise personal time to get tthe work done on time with required quality. I lead teams, and I can smell BS when one team member is trying to kiss my ass just to look better than the rest, and not working as hard as other team members. A good manager knows how to identify better employees. If you promote Tommy, then there is a serious issue in the organization, probably a very toxic organization. The next video "You are too good to get promoted" is aligned with what I'm saying here above, You normlly promote the one that is the best at what he does, because he can mentor thjose with less experience to make the team a high performance team. If you promote Tommy I can assure you you the team member that is too good will leave the company. You cannot epect to retain the one that is the best at the job if you don't reward him with a promotion, you will loose the good talent, and at the end of the day you will end up with mediocre leads that will have no power to execute the projects. I would promote the employee that has best performance, best expertise to do the job, best experience, best attitude, harder worker, because I want this employee to guide the rest of the team to level up to his level.
I worked with a Tommy/Chad. He was irritating AF as his work was sloppy and he was lazy - I remember pointing out all the errors in his reports, reports that were important to our hugest clients, but the execs who should care were too busy or lazy and no one above would see these errors unless the client complained. My mistake was to backstop his shoddy performance and I would fix his mistakes when I ran across them, but he really didn't care. If someone pointed out an error like that I would be horrified at myself. But. Just not on his radar as something to care about. Tommy/Chad was a rockstar at creating false impact by volunteering for high visibility stuff and being collegial with the right people. I suppose it's a form of the old boys club - like you say they recognize the alpha chad and the betas use him to fix the old traumas of being in the out club. If you ask me this is not symptomatic of all corporate environments, but some. The ones with shitty leadership always.
I totally agree with you - especially on the last part. Not all companies are like this. I've worked with and for a ton that aren't. But the Chad Complex prevails in companies with shitty leadership.
I have witnessed many brown nosers and other inexperienced people get promoted. Also some work colleagues who I had differences with in the past but we put them behind us seemed to have slagged me off since we left the workplace. I thought we had parted on amicable terms, I even send a colleague and former FB friend a re request on FB and he left it pending. It shows they are never fully over the feud you had, and may have been being polite but since you left, they do not feel the need to be in touch with you anymore.
Thanks for bringing the truth to us. Every single employee is being assessed and placed in a 9 box system from the management. If you happen to be placed in the "specialist" box, they would never ever promote you even if you have the genius written all over you. That's just how it is.
My dad is rolling in his grave, but this is the truth. He innovated faster ways to deliver mail at the post office, stayed quiet and never rocked the boat. My uncle (his brother) dressed well and always had a smile on his face. He got to be on the pitch for the opening kickoff of the 1994 World Cup at the Rose Bowl when he was postmaster of Pasadena (Calif). My uncle sort of sucked at his job and my dad cleaned up a lot of messes but never got the promotions or paychecks. Just playing politics if you want to get ahead.
I know I am too good to get promoted. I am in a very niche department that no one else can do but external hires. They have forced my department to cut in half by bullying and work overload. I am still here, applying internally, but always get passed up by a less experienced person. I have also played the game. But, I don’t play the game whole heartedly. Because I still point out to management what does and doesn’t work and they don’t want to know because they have their own visions. Yet they have never done the job. So do I switch to full Chad/ Stacey mode? I feel I would be losing my integrity that could spill over into my personal life. It feels that my management doesn’t want to deal with real issues but instead makes busy work for those under them and then don’t work themselves (have endless meeting discussions that go nowhere, I was invited to a few) or feel threatened if a question is posed. I would love to work less and earn more though. Flipping on my coworkers seems harsh but I have been loyal to them but have only had demotions in return with no back up when I have backed them up. I could “switch” personalities because I want success but I feel a bit empty doing that and it would have to be a brain requiring to do it with people believing me. I hate working overtime for free even after being demoted for pointing out company policy violations to management.
Jennifer, People say it all the time surround ourself with right people so how to do it effectively - any top books suggestions to form better relationships with quality people only..
i was known for yrs as the fasted promoted person at my job. i did 1/3 of the work of a 23-person editorial dept & was already taking on higher-level assignments. later, a guy was promoted as quickly, which surprised me. he did nothing to deserve it. no extra work, no staying late, no helping others. turned out our VP found out that person's wife was making more money so the VP raised the guy's salary. (wtf?!!) so uncool. yrs after i left the firm, the guy (not the VP) hired me on a project & gaslit me. (i'm female.) what a creep.
Because the wrong person often gets promoted to a position that's unjustified, the leaner/smaller competition can absolutely destroy these larger companies in the free market. If you see your work environment looking toxic and flowing with injustice, start taking steps to work for yourself. Start your own business and stop being a victim!
Hi Jennifer I just quit an extremely toxic job today. I watched your videos for the last 2 months to build up the strength to do it. Just wanted to say thank you from guiding me away from years and years of regret. Life is too short.
Are you familiar with the Peter Principle....most workplaces are very dysfunctional and most management is out of touch with employees....the reason that most incompetent and non-deserving get promotions is they do things that make them stand out...not for their significant contributions to the business but because they make others look great!!.
I know this is off topic, but how would you address unpaid overtime? Should I go to HR? Go directly to the payroll dept? File a complaint with the labor board?
I actually got promoted and still haven’t started my new position.It’s been 2 years and I haven’t even started the job I was promoted to do.We got a new manager and he decided I was so good at my position that I should stay there and whenever I finally move on to my new role, I should also fill in for my old position when necessary. I complained to Hr and was told it will be considered insubordination if I choose not to continue doing both jobs in my new and old position. It’s so frustrating 😫. Great video by the way❤
She's right. Make the chain of command feel good. But you can't make them look good. If you do then you'll become indispensable meaning they can't lose you.
Depends on who you're making look good. If it's your skip level, or someone 3 ranks higher like in Tommy's case, they'll lift you up to get you closer to them.
I got into a car accident was out of work for 1 month and a bit. I came back and was told I am working the line again. I asked if it was a performance issue? I was told no it’s a business decision and I am the most junior in seniority. But there is another coworker with 1 year on the job and they didn’t kick them out of the same spot. I then few months later have another offer with better pay. I am taking it and will try not to look back.
I learned from school and work this lesson. if you work faster than everybody else, management is going to increase your workload without compensation.
Fun times for us - to get ahead where I work you have to pretend to be interested in golf. I'm convinced 1% are genuinely into golf - 39% pretend they are and play along - 60% have other things going on in their lives and don't care. 14 years in I'm now carrying skills beyond anyone on the team (including the manager) in multiple domains. Knowing there are changes coming, today I told my manager I wasn't going to go for a management role that's up, he smiled, but I would go for a specific intermediate role if it came up anywhere in the company, his face dropped noticably - have I hit that "too good to lose" marker or is it just his territory being eaten away? 🤔Interesting times!
I love your take here. Yeah, Tommy’s rise isn’t “fair,” but it’s important to understand that making your bosses look good is key. Perception is often reality.
“a rising tide lifts all boats” thank you; while only hearing this phrase for the first time today, it mirrors Warren Buffett's (in)famous "Only when the tide goes out do you learn who has been swimming naked."
This sounds great, yet both a lot more difficult and devious in real life. My cousin got hired and quickly promoted twice at our biggest hospital before going to prison for ten years. He didn't have a high school diploma, GED, or any certifications. He had weed constantly in his system in the 2000s and a warrant while working there. His ticket was his girlfriend for a reference and his hyper sexual appetite for white women. Otherwise, he was terrible at learning and doing what he was supposed to do. He would just do the jive talk, slander someone doing what they were supposed to do, and join in the "he'z act'n whyte" routine. I on the hand was too ugly and not hood enough for over twenty years for this hospital. In fact, when I ended up a patient I was humiliated twice with my pants down for not being BBC. He on the other hand was almost released early for prison because the female prison staff where giving the 5'6" stereotype the same interracial sexual treatment until one woman is caught. Meanwhile, I have been discouraged moving forward with security listening to officers and nurses point out the news stories are true; female physicians, nurses, corrections officers, and lawyers enjoy having sex behind bars with murderers, pushers, grapists, woman beaters, thieves, and junkies. My cousin got ten years when one of his girlfriends got fed up after he got the one black woman at the hospital pregnant; think the black part offender her the most despite he is black and was cheating for years. He tried to force her to keep financially and sexually supporting him with a baseball bat. It turned the prison staff on.
That was good writing. I believe all of it , actually. That’s literally how it works. Especially the bit about female prison staff having affairs with inmates, this is a fact.
It may seem unfair, but it makes sense, the higher up you are, interpersonal skills matter more then technical prowess. Command of the English language and the ability to connect to people are by far the most powerful skillset to have.
Yes, a CHAD would promote a CHAD to validate him/herself but this is not the case all the time. All the things you are talking about would only summarize to one thing only. They know Tommy but not you and your high performing coworkers, because Tommy spend his time to make the executives to be acquainted of himself. We call it self-lobbying, and self-marketing, self-PRing... you name it. If you spend the time to do your real and expected work during the work hours, it means you are not spending time for what Tommy is doing, you will never catch up to Tommy in promotion race, only another CHAD would compete with him in that regard.
I remember this worker(David) who got promoted with very little experience and very little education. He resigned a few months later. I having lunch with a coworker and he was saying things about (David). He said that David did a horrible job. If David was still here, he would have received PIP. There were also reports that David was away from his desk for very long periods of time. Then I said to the coworker, "I'm surprised that you said that. I was under the impression that if David set the building on fire, he would have received full forgiveness." Then the coworker said, "I don't know what was David's appeal." From my point of view, the coworkers treated (David) like he was the second coming Jesus Christ. David seemed to have a lot of privileges. Here's a kicker for you. I ended up taking David to Small Claims Court due to an unpaid loan.
I tried to be nice to my boss, and co-workers... They all thought I was onto them 😭😭😭 I'm in my late 20s and all of them, male and female are in their 30s and 40s I hate hate hate, that I'm not that hot, yet everyone thinks that because I'm nice somehow I'm interested in them? I'm just gonna be cold to everyone on my next job, oh wait, that got me fired on my first job right out of college 😢😂😂 Oh well, I guess it can't be helped
It’s simple sometimes (may depend on your particular office situation). If people like you they’ll wanna help you more. Try to be likeable but genuine. Share enough for a relationship but not too much- be selective and strategic about the information you share (not in a manipulative way- just in a political way. Your goal is to protect and uplift your career).
I lost a promotion having 10 years of experience, the recruiters liked more 2 women with less than 1 year experience just because one of them is a single Mom and the other is lesbian and according to the company "they wan to empower women in technology" that's for me in wokeness BS.
Ms. B. Each one of your points is spot in describing promotions from the "true" organizational psychology which occurs in most organizations today. Well done in defining the way things really happen.
I am Tommy. A lot people end up calling me “kiss ass” or etc. I’ve been promoted in every job that I’ve held (even when I was 18 working at Round Table Pizza lol). The thing that drove my promotions and growth was this: I only cared about the bottom line that executives cared about. Production in business is only half the formula, once you mimick what executives care about (which I did and do even if I don’t know what the hell I’m seeing or talking about) and ONCE THEY SEE THAT they’ll say “oh, he/she gets it, they get the core business” and so BOOM you’re in their radar. THEN it’s all about how consistent your are. I always was interested in high level work, the production stuff I always know can be replaced easily so I never felt comfortable for just chilling there and waiting for “promotions” to kick in.
The kind of work I do doesn't come with promotions per se, other than plonking "senior" in front on my title. I personally don't care about climbing the ladder, as long as my income increases with frequent regularity.
Could you please do videos on (1) how to ask for reference from a former toxic boss (with whom you might not have the best rship with but you really need his ref) and (2) how/whether to turn things around after a bad interview due to nerves? Thank you!
Some reason when I want to get promoted my boss is trying to make it hard and even transferring me to help an Asm with specialty numbers idk if it’s because I been there for 8 years plus I proved I can kill it in the specialty area but I do know it seems like I need to be 3x better than the other people who got promoted to the same position
Hi Jennifer i am not given enough work at workplace..for almost the past 3 years what should i do in do not have any idea of what to do..i asked my boss if there is any work and he says there is'nt ..till now i have done only little work what should i do
@@JenniferBrick sort this one out (not made up) crushed my job performance, I have unstable outbursts, team loves working with you, fly out to Vegas, no raise.
Jennifer, could you share tips on How to convince employers to hire me when i had a 4 yrs career gap just after my internship period due to covid & family reasons ? Also i haven't done any volunteer job or certification courses during this period but i have watched many useful lectures on RU-vid + all the essential skills required to do my role as hvac design engineer in Aec construction industry..so how to tailor my resume? Possible ways to handle upcoming challenges or opportunities to succeed without coming up across as unprofessional in any way ?? Any book recommendations on this topic to get selected would be helpful too...
For some reason i always have been of the opinion that career gaps are much much easier to handle in last few years , infact that they aren't a big deal at all... But i find many concerned more and more in today's age !! PS: Especially, i am based in Asia, where a small career break could ruin your career when we used to notice a western world, where people could walk out and in of any job .. on a break, a sabbatical or a reemployment ... Today even in Asia, a career break is nothing and I'm surprised at the concerns in the West!!
@@thelayman6189 You shouldn't be surprised as i am from India 🇮🇳 not from west 😅 also a fresher ( beginner ) in my field of AEC construction design right out of college so it sometime adds to my nervousness or negative thinking but as the situation progresses a lot of times positive outcomes do come at right time with much needed momentum.
Sounds like Tommy was looking for ways to add value to the people paying him for his time, while everyone else was busy worrying about how much more attention and money they could get for themselves. Everyone should be forced to start and run a business (with employees) for 5 years before they're allowed to work for others. Today's average employee epitomizes unenlightened self-interest, but don't worry - they've got great rationalizations for it. Give first, get later. That's how it works, just ask Tommy.
You have a massive point, entrepreneurs know the client is paramount and the clients who can provide lots of revenue are at the top. The Tommy/Chads I worked with assumed without asking that the people around them would pick up the slack to allow them to focus on jobs that were peripherally related, but more political and self aggrandizing and turned the spotlight of their attention on people who could influence their ascendancy. Most employees have a sense of duty about doing a good job according to their job description and direct manager vs. people who are excellent at power politics and don't mind burning their co workers and even their manager once they've figured out the game in their particular corporation. I do feel there's something often psychopathic about this strategy. If you have good management who respects their employees it can't happen, but when you have self serving, lazy executives or otherwise bad management it can happen.
