Promotions are hard to come by: so many of us suffer from what’s known as “tiara syndrome”: a workplace phenomenon where we wait patiently for our managers to notice and recognise our efforts, expecting the rewards–aka the tiara–to be bestowed upon us. When it doesn't happen, it can be not only confusing, but demoralising.
Lack of acknowledgement, feedback and support from managers can be so detrimental that according to research from Gallup, 50% of employees actually leave their companies because of their boss.
So when we are promoted, it’s a great thing. A promotion offers a host of attractive benefits: a better job title to add to the CV, more responsibilities with interesting potential, the chance to step up and stretch ourselves, and, of course, earn some more money.
But what if your promotion isn’t everything it seems? What if, in fact, it is what’s known as a “quiet promotion”? This is when you’re being asked to take on more responsibilities–for example managing a team–without commensurate compensation or a title change.
Rampant
Quiet promotions are so rampant in the workplace that a recent survey found that 78% of people have experienced increased workload without being given any additional money. And 67% have taken on the work of a colleague after they have left. It won’t be a surprise, then, to find that 57% of workers say this practice makes them feel manipulated or taken advantage of.
There are a few ways a quiet promotion can happen. Your manager may ask you to take on additional project responsibilities, and they don’t get taken back off your slate. Or, you may be “trialled” to see if you’re ready to step up, doing additional work but never receiving the benefits for it. It’s also common to take on another colleague’s tasks during an extended leave period, such as maternity cover.
So what can you do if you look at your job now, compared to how it was a year ago and find that your scope of work has expanded dramatically? Asking your manager for a meeting, referencing your original job spec, is a starting point.
Pointing out how your role has changed should open up a conversation about compensation and titles. Setting a timeframe by which you expect to see concrete changes should also be discussed: it could be that additional budget has to be found.
And if none of those approaches work? Then it could be time to look for a new role with better conditions and remuneration. Below, we’re taking a look at three current opportunities, and there are hundreds more to discover on the Maddyness Job Board.
Cloud Security Operations Analyst, GoCardless, London
A global leader in account-to-account payments, GoCardless is all about making it easy for merchants to collect both recurring and one-off payments directly from customers' bank accounts. As a Cloud Security Operations Analyst you will participate in the design, development and implementation of cloud security architecture, strategy and standards. You’ll also provide subject matter expertise on security detection and response capabilities, and will identify, evaluate and communicate cloud-related risks and vulnerabilities and recommended mitigations. To apply, you’ll need knowledge of recommended cloud security controls, fundamentals and best practices as well as experience using SIEM tools (ideally Splunk) to develop security monitoring cases and writing scripts to automate tasks plus previous incident response experience in cloud environments. Get all the information here.
VP of Product, Growth, Monzo, London
Monzo is here to make money work for everyone and it is doing things differently. Now, the company is seeking a highly experienced and strategic VP of Product for Growth. This person will be a key member of the leadership team, with responsibility for leading the development and execution of Monzo’s product strategy for growth. You must have exceptional ability and a strong desire to be the most objective and rigorous member of the organisation, to have the most accurate picture of reality; to understand what works and what doesn't. You will need a proven track record in mobile user activation and monetisation, with extensive know-how in pricing, bundling, tiering, and subscription models as well as advanced knowledge of experimentation stacks. Get the full job spec here.
DevOps Engineer, PlayStation Global, London
PlayStation is recognised as a global leader in entertainment and is seeking a Senior DevOps Engineer within its Content and Customer Support Engineering group. You’ll need to have experience developing and maintaining sophisticated platform solutions, a history of taking ownership and driving IT initiatives that continually improve efficiency, agility, performance, and operational excellence. You’ll need experience with automation and system provisioning, metrics, monitoring, scalability, and security, as well as fluency in at least one programming language other than bash (GO, Python) and experience developing CI/CD processes, automation, and workflows. Get all the info here.
