Have you been told you are a “pleasure to work with” by your co-workers and bosses? Or, “reliable?”
If the answer to both of these questions are ‘yes’, well then chances are you are more likely to be in the back seat of receiving a promotion, according to a viral “conspiracy theory” by TikTok user Jacqueline Morris (@jacqueline).
“If you are both good at your good and a pleasure to work with… you will never be promoted out of a hardworking, more junior position where a lot of the hard work exists,” she said in a video, which has garnered over 8.1 million views so far.
While Morris’ “performance punishment theory” of being nice is a “curse” in a workplace, UAE-based career experts weighed in on the pros and cons of this trend.
Being ‘nice’ doesn’t mean you are a ‘pushover’
“The ‘nice employee’ archetype is rather generalised and is not a one-size-fits-all approach. Just because someone is pleasant to work with does not mean they are also a pushover,” Samia Hassan, a Dubai-based Career and Leadership Coach, and Founder of Unwind the Grind, told Arabian Business.
Hassan explained that when looked in a positive light, it can “jolt” employees to withdraw and evaluate whether they are being too passive and taking on more work than necessary.
“Or if they’re not speaking up and asking the right questions thinking their manager is aware of what needs to happen. Awareness created through this trend could result in them voicing their concerns and initiating constructive conversations with their manager,” she said, adding that there are many factors involved with promotions beyond one’s performance and relationship with others in the organisation.
“How are you perceived by relevant stakeholders in the organisation in terms of image? Do the decision makers know about your incredible performance in terms of exposure? – there are also some other questions to ask your manager if you think your promotion is delayed such as what opportunities for promotion exist in the near future and what needs to happen for me to achieve those? What skills do I need to work on to get promoted?” she said.
Work on self-confidence, brand image, say UAE career experts
Danielle Smith, a Dubai-based Leadership and Positive Psychology Coach, also agreed that seeming too ‘nice’ can hinder promotions and can “hurt other staff members’ chance for promotion,” while working for employers that intend to take advantage of them or does not value a positive work culture.
However, according to a 2020 study by Professor Cameron Anderson at the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley, employees with disagreeing personalities do not progress quicker in the workplace compared to agreeable persons.
The study found results from a character test taken by university students and graduates 14 years before and how their careers turned out afterwards. It found disagreeing individuals had two exact traits cancelling out any career wins. They were “dominant-aggressive,” which helped them gain power, but were also more selfish and less communal seen negatively by workmates.
“These two effects, when combined, appeared to cancel each other out and led to a null correlation between disagreeableness and power,” the study said.
Which is why – Smith said – in the long run self-confidence, general competence and not self-promotion is necessary to advance.
“A quality employer will have a structured progression system based on visible results against target not self-promotion rhetoric,” she said, adding that companies must have “a consistent promotion criteria based on contribution to business results not a system of progression based on personality.”
“By having measurable and tangible deliverables against each role description a company can be more effective in measuring the contribution of each employee,” she explained.
However, Unwind the Grind’s Hassan argued that letting an employee’s work speak for itself and waiting for others to notice is “a recipe for disaster in the competitive corporate world,” which is why she advised on the following tips:
- You need to work on your brand image from Day 1 of joining the organisation.
- Map relevant stakeholders that you need to engage with and ensure they know about the important projects you are working on.
- Work on a variety of projects that allow your diverse skillset to be showcased while building mutually beneficial relationships with people across different functions.
- Instead of solely relying on your manager for exposure, create broad visibility and credibility for yourself with key leaders in your organization.
- Create opportunities by connecting with peers, mentors and coaches who can act as your sponsors in propagating your work to the senior leadership.
- They can strongly influence you getting a competitive next assignment.
- They can also connect you to their power network.
However, for ‘nice’ employees who want to better their chances of getting a promotion, she advised employees to be more “proactive and intentional” about their brand image and exposure.
“Ensure you set clear expectations with your manager and are on the same page with regards to your promotion criteria and timelines. Having said that, performance remains the entry ticket for career success. If you don’t have it, you are not even in the game. Great and consistent performance sets the base for Image and Exposure but by itself, it is not enough to drive career aspirations. It is your reputation builder and the common denominator in the promotion process,” she said.
So, can work cultures be changed to judge people more on their skills than personality?
Smith also advised these employees to “continue” being nice, while documenting their successes and presenting them during an employee review meeting. “If you don’t have a review, try and schedule one with your manager. They [companies] should have a consistent promotion criteria based on contribution to business results not a system of progression based on personality,” she said.
In addition, Hassan said that the company ought to establish clear success criteria for promotions at all levels.
These criteria should be metric-based and linked to organisational objectives and values. Managers should conduct performance evaluations and career discussions with employees on a quarterly basis, at minimum.
They must ensure the employee understands how their work aligns with opportunities and timings, she said, adding that promotion decisions or delays should not surprise the employee, as their line of sight should be well established.
“Skills are both technical and behavioural. Behavioural skills, also known as soft skills, are personality traits that employees need to have for various job roles at all levels of the organisation. Hence, they are and should be very much a part of the recruitment and performance management process. Key is to ensure objectivity in the way these skills are measured. For example, people who are introverted by nature should not be penalised for their leadership skills simply because they’re not the loudest voice in the room,” she concluded.
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