People Share Whether They Go Above And Beyond At Work Or Just Do The Bare Minimum

So many bosses and higher-ups hold back the hard workers, and then promote mediocrity far too often.

It's a tale as old as time.

This brings down morale.

And when morale is down, who wants to go above and beyond?

Why bother?

A lot of people go in with a smile and a strong work ethic.

Over time, that work ethic slowly diminishes due to disrespect and a lack of pay.

And smile?

A sad frown.

Redditor Dependent-Signal-721 wanted to hear about everyone's work ethic, so they asked:

"Do you go above and beyond at work or just do the bare minimum of what’s expected and why?"

The Fastest

"I learned this the hard way that in most companies, the only reward for being the fastest digger is a bigger shovel. If you show them you can do the work of two people, they won't double your pay; they will just fire the other person and dump their work on you. So, I do exactly what I am paid to do."

- Kaitlyn_Mel

Happy Season 5 GIF by The Office Giphy

Average

"In between? I try to complete my tasks to the best of my ability, and I try to help my coworkers whenever they need it. But I'm not working to my maximum limit exactly, or pushing myself to work as hard as I can 24/7. You gotta set the 'average' standard for your output below your maximum possible ability, yknow?"

- Silly_Accident3137

"This. Also, if you start a competition, some may not play fair, and the work ends up being done with cut corners. Setting unreal standards also makes management want too much and creates more problems. In some roles, the rule is do your job right, not fast."

- junktech

Doing the Least

"I was giving my full effort and energy for a few years, and then during one appraisal, our ceo came and said, 'We are happy to announce that we made 13x profit and our company is doing extremely well, but we can't give you any hike, but dont worr,y we feel your frustration and our empathy is with you guys.'”

"THIS triggered me, and I just gave my bare minimum since and searching for a new job."

- VeganDracula_

Hard Earned

"I'm a financial analyst. I still find it quite funny how I really pushed myself in 2023 and went way above expectations in my job responsibilities, but received a 3 'meets expectations' on a scale of 1-5 for that year's review, which really ticked me off."

"So, in 2024, I started doing the bare minimum. I started cutting corners with my analyses, lower quality narratives, less polished formatting, and more. I also stopped responding to emails within an hour and overall just cared less about the work I do. My boss said I impressed, and I received a 'hard earned' 4 'exceeds expectations' on the same scale."

"I've continued the same as I did in 2024, and we shall see how my 2025 review looks."

"My boss is not a micromanager, but she really doesn't manage at all. She's one foot out the door and has been since I started. She is literally just doing the staff performance evaluations on vibes, I swear."

- DoorDash4Cash

For my Students

"Kindergarten teacher here- above and beyond because my students deserve the BEST start to their education!"

- kerigirly77

"I’m a teacher. I wouldn’t say I go above and beyond, nor do I do the bare minimum. I just do my job. If part of my job isn’t to lead a committee, then I’m not doing it. I will do anything for my students except spend my own money, but I’m very unlikely to do anything for admin or the district that I don’t have to or am not paid for."

- 1heart1totaleclipse

2% of Nothing

"Employee: exceeded role requirements and contributed well above expectations."

"Company during annual review: We appreciate your contributions, but since we expected you to exceed expectations, we will rate you as meeting expectations. Here’s your 2% raise."

- REDDIT

Shocked Boss GIF Giphy

Getting Nothing - Giving Nothing

"Bare minimum. I used to go above and beyond, but realized quickly how little this amounts to. You end up doing everyone else's work for the same pay. No recognition. No promotion. Still get denied anything you ask for. All while watching the delinquent and lazy workers who all abuse the policies, get everything they want."

"Imagine someone having 54 absences on the year and nothing happens to them. But I get punished for having approved surgery scheduled a month ahead of time."

- Uppercussion

All These Years Later...

"After being laid off after 10 years at a corporate job, I thought they cared about my achievements (big mistake), I just do what I’m asked in my new role. I put my best effort in, but otherwise, I leave at 5 and don’t try to win any awards or go above and beyond. At the end of the day, if they need to cut numbers, they will, regardless of your performance."

- Hudson11177

Learned Early

"They taught me that in my very first job (3-year project at university). Put in an extra hour every day for 2.5 years because I wanted the project to succeed. During the final 6 months, my boss started calling me every day, a minute after work began and a minute before it ended, to make sure I wouldn’t skip a single minute. And berated me like a child when I was 5 minutes late. That’s when you learn that going the extra mile with no position to be promoted to is never rewarded."

- magicmulder

In the Middle

"Dislike the question that doesn’t seem to suggest there’s a middle ground. There are days that I do very little. There are others that I’m working late to get whatever the urgent and visible thing is done. On balance, it works out fine, and I’ve progressed ahead of what is typically expected in my industry without slavishly killing myself every day."

- Ok_Understanding1986

For the Group

"Because what I do affects my coworkers, I do my best. Mostly because I’ve seen that someone doing the bare minimum requires more work from others to pick up slack (I’m usually the slack picker-upper), because if you don’t do that day's work, it still has to get done."

- Suzesaur

co-worker tries GIF Giphy

A Great Guy

"I used to. The guy who was the storeman was a great guy and I had total respect for him and would do anything for him... unfortunately he died from cancer last year and the guy who replaced him is a bit of a d*ck at times and I don't respect him like his predecessor so yeh, I will give a little extra but no where near as much."

- Pinky2110

Give and Take

"I go above and beyond for 2 main reasons. A job is more than just a paycheck. I know when I need something, like taking more days off or absence or anything like that, they will do whatever they can to help me. It's a mutual relationship based on give and take. As a professional, I also have a professional courtesy to do a good job to gain a reputation in the field."

- Ok-Carry-7759

High Performer

"Yes. The answer to this question totally depends on the job at hand."

"You at Taco Bell? F**k that place, man. But if you are, say, a professional engineer, doing your best is the only thing that makes you stand out in a sea of mediocre engineers. You're the one who doesn't get laid off when the waves come and go. You also start to get asked things by younger engineers who need help, and eventually look for leadership/SME roles."

'Eventually, being the 'high performer' engineer who 'really owns things that are given to them' is quite literally the only way you're getting promoted. A bare minimum, do-nothing 'unless specifically asked' engineer is not making it to grade 7, maybe not even to grade 6 in most corporate structures. 'Senior' engineer (grade 5) is where many will stall out, whenever they could become managers or become principals (technical-expert corporate tracks) and make significantly more money."

- watduhdamhell

PERFECT

"I’m 17, I’m a junior, for some reason they expect me to be a perfect worker despite being paid less than the adult staff who I often find talking to one another rather than working."

- LieImaginary3768

Co Worker Thank You GIF by Kiri® Giphy

Pays Off

"I usually go above and beyond if I’m treated with respect. The reason is that when I go above and beyond, it increases my odds of moving up in that organization, but I’ll really only do that if it’s an organization in which I want to stay. The exception is if a title change is in the works and I want to use that for when I apply elsewhere."

"Since being hired, I received 2 promotions over the person who interviewed me, and when layoffs happened, he was cut, while I was put in charge of a new unit with a raise. So it pays off."

- TheTaoOfMe

Workplace drama will never get old.

It sounds like everybody is trying to do their best to just get through the day.

People are tired of being overworked, underpaid, and treated poorly.

It's a career epidemic.

There have to be ways to fix it.