“Am I out of sync with today’s workforce? What’s wrong with expecting a day’s work for a day’s pay?”

The caller said he had an idea for a blog post, was I interested?

“Always”, I said. “What is it?”

Here’s what he told me:

“My boss asked me not to work so hard. “Lighten up”, he said. Can you believe that? ‘Lighten up!’ He told me I was passed up for promotion because I expected too much of myself and of others. He said that my subordinates don’t take to me. Don’t take to me? What am I supposed to do with that? If I don’t do my job the way I think I should, I’m cheating my company and I’m cheating myself. If I don’t demand more of my employees they won’t grow and they won’t contribute. Don’t get me wrong. These are good people. I like working with them. I just don’t understand that kind of thinking. And I gotta’ tell you, I’m frustrated.”

He went on…

“I don’t yell at folks, I’m not mean, I’m not rude. I just say what I have to say. It’s true that I don’t ask about their kids and their mothers. I’m not interested in their dogs and their cats; not because I’m an uncaring person, I just believe the workplace is for work and not for personal stuff.

“How am I supposed to act? What am I supposed to do? I’m not from around here. Maybe we think differently where I come from.

“This isn’t the first time that I’ve been told that I’m serious and I’m focused. This is the first time I’ve lost a promotion to it. It blows me away.

I like this area, I like my company, and I like the people, so quitting my job doesn’t make sense. But if I’m not going to go farther because I demand more, what choice do I have here or anywhere?”

He’s been working at the company for two years. He received an “outstanding” rating at his first review along with a nice bump in salary. At his most recent evaluation, he dropped to “meets expectations“ and got a cost of living increase that didn’t amount to much.

I asked if his department’s productivity had changed since he’s been in charge:

“It improved at first but it’s been falling for the last six months or so.  My predecessor had been pretty slack. He let the employees do as they pleased. When I came in I instituted structure, procedures, and process improvements they didn’t have before. They seemed to take it well and a number of them mentioned they were getting more done than before.

“The more effective I was, the more time I spent at work. I’ve been called a workaholic and if that means I like to work hard and get things done, then it’s true.  I get a lot of satisfaction from my work. I don’t have much of an outside life; not many hobbies and not many friends. It’s not that I don’t like people, it’s just that when I get home I’m tired and I don’t feel like socializing.”

This caller is a high achiever who believes he’s been denied a promotion and a salary increase because he works harder and demands more than other employees have. He prefers to manage things instead of people and believes he’s paid to work and not play. He’s a private person and doesn’t want to get involved in his subordinate’s lives. He thinks employees should work hard, pull their own weight, and show initiative by doing what must be done without waiting to be told how, when and at what time. He tries to be his boss’s dream and ends up starring in a career nightmare.

The harder he works the less he succeeds for his boss, his subordinates, and his pocketbook. He’s gone as far as he can go unless he changes into a copy of someone else. What should he do? Leave or stay? If he leaves what guarantee does he have that the outcome will be different somewhere else? Whose problem is it?

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Yes! You may use this article by Executive and Career Coach, Joyce Richman, in your blog, article in your blog, newsletter or website as long as you include the following bio box:

Joyce Richman (www.joycerichman.com) has been specializing in executive and career coaching since she started her own practice in 1982. She works in a variety of environments including: higher education, manufacturing, sales, marketing, media, technology, pharmaceuticals, medicine, banking and finance, service, IT, and non-profit sectors. A member of the adjunct faculty at the Center for Creative Leadership, Joyce is certified to administer a number of feedback and psychological instruments. Joyce is a weekly guest on WFMY-TV and the career columnist for The Greensboro News & Record. She is the author of Roads, Routes and Ruts: A Guidebook to Career Success and co-author of Getting Your Kid Out of the House and Into a Job. A popular speaker, Richman conducts seminars and workshops throughout the United States, Canada and Europe. Her coaching profile can be found at TheCoachingAssociation.com