How does 'performance punishment' affect employees?

It can lead to burnout, lower job satisfaction, and employee turnover, as employees take on more work without adequate support or recognition.

Why do high performers feel pressured?

High performers often face greater expectations and responsibilities without additional compensation, leading to frustration and burnout.

How can employers address 'performance punishment'?

Employers can break the cycle by communicating openly with employees about their interests and career-development goals to assign work that benefits both parties.

Feeling Punished for Doing Well? Workers Are Quitting Over 'Performance Punishment'

Q: What is 'performance punishment'?

'Performance punishment' is a workplace trend where high-performing employees are given more responsibilities without a corresponding promotion or pay rise.

AI impact on young workers — Being good at your job shouldn’t feel like a punishment, but some high performers face more work without extra pay or recognition. Pexels.com/Anna Shvets

A workplace trend dubbed 'performance punishment' is gaining attention online, with workers describing how strong performance can result in additional responsibilities without a corresponding promotion or pay rise.

The term has been used in workplace discussions for years and has more recently gained attention on TikTok, where posts about the workplace pattern have drawn thousands of comments from workers sharing similar experiences.

What Is 'Performance Punishment'?

'Performance punishment' is an emerging workplace term used online to describe a pattern in which high-performing employees are repeatedly given more responsibility because managers know they can be relied upon. It overlaps with the older concept of 'quiet promotion', where employees take on additional work without a corresponding increase in pay or title.

It can happen when managers repeatedly turn to employees who consistently deliver, handle difficult projects, or step in when problems arise. Over time, those employees may take on responsibilities beyond their original role.

The practice can contribute to burnout and lower job satisfaction as well as employee turnover, particularly when added responsibilities come without enough support, recognition, or opportunities for development. It can also leave employees doing more than their formal role calls for without a new title or pay that reflects the added responsibility.

TikTok Brings 'Performance Punishment' Into the Spotlight

In a TikTok video, Lynda, who posts as @lynda.leads and refers to herself as 'Manager Guru', discussed the issue. The post had more than 6,300 comments, with viewers sharing similar experiences at work. 'Someone shows up; they deliver. They fix problems before they even are noticed,' Lynda said.

@lynda.leads There is a real name for what happens when your strongest employees get overloaded for being good at their job: performance punishment. It's when high performers are rewarded with more work, tighter deadlines, and constant pressure instead of support, pay, or protection. This is how burnout starts and how top talent walks out the door. If you're a manager, this is your warning. And if you're always "the one who can handle it," this might be why you're exhausted. #learnontiktok #tiktoklearningcampaign ♬ original sound - Lynda | Manager Guru

She said reliable employees can quickly become the default people managers turn to when deadlines are missed, processes break down, or colleagues fail to pull their weight. According to Lynda, those added responsibilities can come without extra pay or a lighter workload, leaving employees facing greater expectations.

'The top performer also carries the most pressure, the most cleanup, and the smallest margin for mistakes,' she said. Over time, Lynda said, these employees may stop volunteering or stepping in to solve problems because they realise their strong performance has become a disadvantage. 'Excellence became their penalty,' she said, warning that high performers can eventually burn out and quietly leave, taking their experience and productivity with them.

Why High Performers Feel the Pressure

Comments under Lynda's TikTok video showed that many workers recognised the experience. 'The more you do, the more they expect,' one commenter wrote. Others said they stopped fixing colleagues' mistakes, only to be labelled as having a 'bad attitude'. Some commenters said they eventually quit after feeling their extra work went unrecognised. One commenter described the problem as being 'too valuable for promotion,' while another called it 'the curse of competence.'

Pay was another source of frustration. One commenter claimed they received a 0.22% raise despite being rated as exceeding expectations in every area. Another said a newer employee was earning more, while their own request for a raise was rejected because it was 'not in the budget.'

More Work Isn't Always a Reward

A 2022 JobSage survey of 1,000 US full-time workers found that 78% had experienced a 'quiet promotion', while 67% said they had taken on the workload of a departed colleague without additional pay.

WorldatWork has pointed to economic uncertainty, hiring freezes, and layoffs as factors that can leave remaining employees taking on additional work.

How Employers Can Break the Cycle

Tracy Brower, a PhD sociologist and workplace expert, advises employees to communicate openly with their leaders about their interests and skills as well as career-development goals.

'Be open with your leader about your passions, interests, and how you want to develop,' Brower wrote in Fast Company, arguing that this can help managers assign work that benefits both employees and the organisation.