“I'm never jealous nor envious of others fortuitous . . . but merely an equality-seeker!” - Mizpah Erica Buensuceso
What will you do if your management questionably promoted some folks to a senior title and you’re one of those people, who have worked hard with the company for years and due to some technicalities were not promoted at all?
Sometimes, employers don't always promote the most qualified or deserving candidates. If another employee gets the promotion you've been eyeing, you'll most likely experience a barrage of emotions, such as jealousy, anger or resentment. When it's an unfair promotion, you might not know how to cope with your emotions and might even think about finding another job or career path.
But honestly, you don't have to abandon ship -- you can deal with an unfair promotion in the office without giving up all hope.
The New York Times consultant John Beeson suggests:
1. Say as little as possible, because you may be tempted to say something you later regret and if you’ll say anything to your boss, just let him know that you're disappointed.
2. Schedule a quiet time to talk to your boss and ask him to help you understand the situation and ask for feedback why you were passed over.
3. Seek for advise and ask for examples of exactly what you should focus on so you're the most qualified candidate the next time around.
What Went Wrong?
“Promotions based on tenure ship is a perfect example of 'demerit system'. It should be based solely on one's performance, attitude and dedication towards work.” - Mizpah Erica Buensuceso
In other case, you are not expecting a promotion because you know that you're not eligible, but viola! You were surprise that few laid back tenured folks stepped a notch higher!
Sometimes, promotions occur for truly unfair reasons. It's not just that another candidate was more qualified or tenured than you, because we all know that ‘tenured’ is not equal to ‘skilled’ - it's due to other circumstances.
It's disappointing that sometimes situation like this happened in climbing the corporate ladder. According to career coach Joan Lloyd on her site Jobdig, if you are confronted by a really unfair promotion, you need to think about how far you want to take your concerns, says executive. You could consider seeking legal advice or maybe by simply talking to your boss.
But many times, you may have to grin and bear it. Be positive about it. Turn this issue as an opportunity to grow emotionally and professionally.
Think of this reason before giving in to your emotion and throw hot coffee to someone else’s face -> This kind of promotion is a huge surprise for everyone, even for the people who honestly didn't expect to be promoted. It's the company's discretion, and for some circumstances your boss doesn't have control over it.
This issue reminds me of The Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard (Matthew 20:1-16).
The parable goes like this - The owner of a vineyard hires day laborers at various times throughout the day. When it is time to pay the workers, all of them get the same pay regardless of how long they have worked - the ones hired at six o'clock in the morning put in a full day’s work and those hired at five o'clock in the afternoon put in only one hour of work – the owner pays everyone a full day’s wage.
The employer pays all of the workers exactly what he promised. He is not trying to cheat them. They all agreed to work for a set amount, but at the end of the day the workers who worked the longest felt it was unfair that those who were hired last got paid the same. The issue is envy and their sense of fairness, which has been offended.
Many scholars assumed that this parable is about work since it involves laborers and managers. It seems to say, “Don't compare your pay to others” or “Don't be dissatisfied if others get paid more or work less than you do in a similar job.” If you earn a decent wage, why make yourself miserable because others have it even better?
And does Jesus really mean that we should be content when other workers are treated unfairly?
If we’ll take the parable literally and applied it to our society it will be like:
1. Paying people equally regardless of how much work they do.
2. Everyone knows everyone else's salary.
3. Huge incentive and pay for nonperforming worker.
Aren’t these points questionable business practice? It will promote tardiness and laziness since you’ll still get the whole day’s pay regardless of how much work you do. This is definitely not a recipe for business success.
Does Jesus really advocate this pay practice?
Perhaps the parable is not really about work. The parable says “the first will be last, and the last will be first” (Matt. 20:16). This suggests that the story is about whom the kingdom belongs and entry into God’s kingdom is not gained by our work or action, but by the generosity of God.
Once we understand the parable to be about God’s generosity in the kingdom of heaven, we may still ask how it applies to work. If you are being paid fairly, the advice about being content with your wage may stand. If another worker receives an unexpected benefit, wouldn't it be graceful to rejoice, rather than grumble?
If the vineyard owner represents God, this is a powerful message of hope to everyone struggling to find equality. A sense of fairness is a human trait. God, by contrast is extravagantly loving and gracious. God showers us with love and forgiveness and acceptance and grace. God’s love for us is not dependent upon any sense of what is fair. He loves us all, sinners and saints. The message in verse 16, “the last will be first, and the first last,” is that no matter how long or how hard a believer works during his lifetime, the reward of eternal life will be the same given to all. Also the scripture also teaches us that there are different rewards in heaven for different services, but the ultimate reward of eternal life will be achieved by all equally.
Finally, losing out on a promotion you deserved isn't the end of the world and it’s not the end of your career, either. As one career counselor says:
"Really successful people use [rejection] as a learning experience, they don't let it immobilize them. They use it as an opportunity to develop and exhibit resilience." - Dr.Janet Scarborough
*A heartfelt Thanks to my dearest editor – Mizpah Erica Buensuceso
For fairness and equality,
Analou
