Promoted! But my responsibilities DECREASE?

[The LadyKiller]

I have a potentially troubling job situation and I was hoping your guys can offer some insight.

Quick facts about my job/process:
-I work at a very large/corporate-style company. It's a good place to work when it comes to career destinations and the benefits are also very good.
-For my type of position, we have 6 months to prove ourselves. At that point, we are either "promoted" (basically a pay raise and increased job duties) or fired. This is done via a vote among some higher-ups.
-Logically, the more simplistic job duties go to the people newer to the department. As we advance up the "depth chart," we receive more major assignments. Once you are "promoted" out of the 6-month stage, these more major assignments directly attribute to the final project and are actually pretty cool. Some of the "beginner" assignments are not that cool, but are necessary and everyone gets them early on.

Where I am now:
-I have been working here for 7+ months and was "promoted" at the 6-month mark. My evaluators said the quality of my work was very good and will continue to become even better. They also commented on how I turn any weakness into a strength and that I really don't make any errors.

The problem:
-Like I said before, once I am "promoted," I should be seeing some more advanced job responsibilities. Especially since my evaluation group said I do good work and don't make mistakes. Unfortunately, I'm still getting "beginner"-quality work. I don't want to project any sort of ego, but to be honest, I'm past this. He!!, people who have been here considerably shorter than me - and haven't even been "promoted" are given more responsibilities! The people who were "promoted" around when I was absolutely are given more responsibility. And my evaluations were better than theirs!
-Again, the content and substance of my work is regularly reported as "very good." I know for a fact I do better work than a lot of my co-workers who have been here for a similar period of time. One reason I know this is because I oftentimes need to help them complete their tasks.
-At some of these more "beginner" spots, the supervisors at those stations are puzzled as to why I would still be there, as I've clearly advanced through that stage. The head guy at that station purposely told some new people that the particular station is for "newer employees" so that I'd hear it; he thinks I should be given bigger things to do, but he has no power to enforce that.

The question:
-What do I do? I will likely send a nice, quick e-mail to the big department boss, who likes meeting with people, asking to meet with him briefly and that there are no issues. When (presumably) I meet with him, I will say I feel good, but that I want to make sure things are ok. I have noticed on the schedule we all get that the assignments I am receiving are only also being completed by "new" people. I know my work is good because my reports all say so, and would accept the challenge of increased responsibilities.

This is my first full-time job, so I hope you guys can help provide a little bit of insight. Next month, I will have been here for 8+ months. Though I am being told that my work is very good, it's discouraging when people I know I do better than and who have only been here for half the time are trusted with more responsibility. One of my friends in the industry is guessing that the company's perception of me is negative, even if it's not true - for some reason unknown to me, people have some doubt. Another friend thinks that maybe the company was iffy on keeping me around (and still are) or my vote was very close, but they promoted me either out of fear that my potential would be realized at a rival company OR because they must think I know a big higher-up at the company (I don't really know any big higher-ups).

What do you think? My frustrated thoughts are, "Well, if they are giving me basic jobs now, why was I even promoted and given a pay raise?"

 

[azanon]

Haven't you ever seen the movie Office Space?

 

[The LadyKiller]

Haven't you ever seen the movie Office Space?

Great movie. Luckily, my bosses aren't forcing me in on off-days!

Don't focus on the limitations of your promotion. They moved you up for a reason.

If you want advanced responsibilities, then you simply need to CREATE them yourself, and then you need to fulfill them.

Don't react. Be proactive. Make things happen.

A winner will FIND work where there is none.

Espi, I've tried something similar. Usually, if/when I finish my work early, I'll try to help someone else with theirs. However, the company is a little strict on our regimen for the day. Basically, "Do your assigned tasks for the day, then go home/don't work (so we don't have to pay overtime)." Early on, I told them I'd work off-the-clock, they said no.

It's corporate, so things end up being a little more black-and-white.

 

[azanon]

Great movie. Luckily, my bosses aren't forcing me in on off-days!

Well, there's that, but I was thinking more of the parts of the movie that dealt directly with your question and the thesis of your post. I only saw it once, but I recall the main actor being considered and accepted for "upper management" because he was bored and didn't want to do anything else. Best I recall, they interviewed a series of folks and the most lazy one that didn't want to do anything was promoted because that's exactly what you do in "upper management".

..........

I actually read your post this time and i'll give you my two cents. And let me forewarn you, I'm usually blunt:

You're flirting with paranoia, and offices these days have way too many of these types. Paranoia in the workplace can, and often does, become a self-fulfilling process. It is also antagonistic to what we teach here since a DJ would never be described as being paranoid. And what I'm about to say might sound counterintuitive to what I just said: Quit asking your "friends" what they think of your work performance. You don't have friends in a workplace. The workplace is dog-eat-dog, just like life. Someone who's not paranoid never asks other workmates what they think of their performance. You're doing the equilivent of cutting your arm with a knife in a pool full of sharks.

Do the best you can at your workplace, but do so as effortlessly, calmly, and casually as possible. Constantly network. Constantly update your resume and be prepared for the worst, though never being afraid of the worst. Become a saver and build your emergency fund. People with large emergency funds don't worry as much about temporary setbacks.

I'd also recommend you read 48 laws of power. Anyone who agrees and implements the tenants of that book would never post something like this.

 

[The LadyKiller]

Well, there's that, but I was thinking more of the parts of the movie that dealt directly with your question and the thesis of your post. I only saw it once, but I recall the main actor being considered and accepted for "upper management" because he was bored and didn't want to do anything else. Best I recall, they interviewed a series of folks and the most lazy one that didn't want to do anything was promoted because that's exactly what you do in "upper management".

The ones coming in on Saturdays are the underlings, such as your old "lower level" job.

Lol that's correct. In my situation, it's still an "entry-level" position, hardly upper management.

The people who are "promoted" like me are give more important responsibilities because (and higher-ups have said this), being "promoted" means you have shown the ability to do the work well, etc. While I'm not being "promoted" as much as simply retained and given a pay raise, the people who started around the same time as me HAVE been given more important job duties. My work is good, I've been "promoted" as well, yet they're still handing me the basic jobs that a lot of new people get. That's the frustrating thing.

I know people b*tch about their job duties when they themselves aren't doing much work, doing a bad job, etc. In my case, it's reported - on paper (e-mail that goes out to all the bosses) that I do good work and have a great work ethic. I should be getting more important assignments, ones that all the other "promoted" people get since it's in accordance to company procedure.

 

[The LadyKiller]

Looks like an interesting read Espi, I'll check it out.

We have irregular hours at our job (think 5pm...as a start!), so the 9-to-5 mindset doesn't really exist. I do stay past my time somewhat often, though not overwhelmingly.

Anyways, I think your post brings about something else too: If my work is good, and people report that it's good, then I'd be jumping through hoops just to be "even" with people lower than me. Not disagreeing with you, just realizing how everything is put in play. In fact, here's a comparison. People who just "go with the flow" move up in terms of job responsibilities at my company just because their tenure is longer. I'm not moving up at all, so somehow I am still the one "standing out" even if it's not a positive.

Anyways, I'll know more tomorrow night after I see my boss. Clearly he'll know a lot more than me as to what's going on.

 

[The LadyKiller]

Thanks Charismo. I appreciate the insight. I took out a few excerpts to explain a little better:

It sounds to me like you were a star employee who (as all stars are) was eventually promoted to a higher level. Kudos to you on that because that highlights your brightness & talent in order for you to have excelled & perform as much as you have. Now that your ambitious nature has propelled you to your destination it seems that you have outgrown your position as well.

I haven't "outgrown" the position. Basically for this job, a lot of people are the same position, but the responsibilities you are given and the type/amount of work you are given depends on how much they trust you. I still have a lot to learn in this current spot (more involved things for down the road). My gripe is that - even though I was promoted - I don't see an increased level of trust or confidence from my superiors even though I have proven I do good work (they write so in their reports). People who have not yet been promoted or have worked about as long as me are getting increased responsibilities and I know their work isn't better.

Regarding the "star employee": We have a 6-month trial period before the promotion. For the first 3 1/2 months, I was flawless. Then, I had a couple-day stretch during 1 week where I wasn't great. Not terrible, but I didn't do my best work those days. It happens to everyone, can't be 100%. Well, this seemed to open the flood gates for this situation. All of a sudden, superiors became "very concerned" and there were "problems" where there really wasn't. Other superiors thought these "issues" were BS and it's dumb for anyone to even bring them up as such, so I do have some polarization here. Predictably, I rebounded the next week and have kept that up since, but the 1 week (out of about 30) seems to have shaken my superiors. Other people have made much worse errors, but "it happens." I don't get it.

Now on the other hand if you are happy then having a nice little chat with your boss is a way to go.

I like where I work, so what you mentioned is what I did a couple of days ago. While my direct boss wouldn't specify much, he said that I'll be seeing increased responsibilities in December (the November schedule was already made). He told me that they made November's schedule before I was promoted, and he wasn't sure if my evaluation group would promote me; therefore, he couldn't give me major assignments because if I got let go, it would be difficult to find replacements. My personal guess is upper management was predicting a close vote that could go either way (again, that one week is my only negative, but caused some negative perception among some people). I'll never know how close the 7-person vote was, but the point is I'm still here.

Now I can go into a whole, "Well why do you feel everyone else will be promoted" speel, but I won't.

 

[UnsworthK]

You're in your first year, which means you have to prove yourself. If you stay late and help out other employees, maybe even do a few ****ty jobs you wouldn't really like doing, it all gets noticed, and hence you will get noticed.

If you show that you are keen, enthusiastic and want to learn then your superiors will take that on board, and give you higher responsibilities and more important tasks to test your abilities. Once tested, your then in the power position, you can either impress them by doing great work or let them down by doing flaky work. Your choice Best of luck though!

 

[Rho]

Wtf is this? it sounds like you are living some kind of Orwellian nightmare, maybe its in the wording though.

 

[L B]

You're really over thinking things here. They promoted you for a reason. They might not have a project for abilities yet. Continue brushing up on the basics and if it continues, talk to your direct supervisor for more responsibilities. In your spare time, learn something new about the company that you can use later.

 

[Warrior74]

The few times I have been a manager (3 times, small companies), I really didn't want my best star people promoted out of their spots. I wanted them to produce. Putting in for them getting a raise or a paper only promotion kept them happy. How did I get my spot? Mainly I was better than everyone else, AND I often was proactive about finding solutions to problems, delegating work, and making my boss look great to his boss. (never be a spotlight hog, be aggressive but humble).

 

[The LadyKiller]

I appreciate the replies. I've been out of power all week so haven't been able to go online.

I did meet with my boss, and things look up. Soon after we met, he came over and said to get ready for some changes in my schedule that I will like. The supervisors I work with have really begun to open up towards me, which is nice. I also discovered the one positive when I work the more "basic" slots on certain days; my reviews are through the roof. Though I still feel strange because they're usually spots for newer people, it can't hurt when they write that I do an exceptional job and help mentor the newer people in those areas.

IMO, what helps is that I don't try to show off an over-competitiveness. While the company is very competitive, I believe in my own work. I'll talk to anyone, not afraid to help them out on things b/c I know I'll still be able to get the job done. Some people might become a little paranoid when the competition comes to light.