'People like this annoy me': Coworker accused of cheating by working crazy hours to get a promotion

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  • 01
    Font - AITA "cheating" to get a promotion? I put the "cheating" in quotes because I don't think it's cheating but my colleagues disagree. I'm in my 30s and everyone involved are between 30-50. About 6 months ago, our unit VP announced his retirement by the end of the year so the company went into search mode. We recently found out our manager will be promoted into the VP position so now his position needs to be filled. Which brings us to my current situation.
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    Font - I'm single with no kids so I have no other except to myself. I really responsibilities want this position because it's a visible position and a great stepping stone to my career (as seen by my manager's promotion) and it'll almost double my pay. Once we found out about our manager's promotion, I started to take on extra projects and taking work home. I leave work at my normal hours then work from home until 9 or 10 pm, even on the weekends. All of those extra hours have allowed me to take
  • 03
    Font - Word got around and this week during our weekly conference call, my colleagues told me to cut it out. They accused me of cheating because I'm putting in the amount of hours they can't so I'm skewing the production numbers. I refused and don't think it's cheating at all and argued they can put in the same amount of hours. Some said they can't because of family time and others refuse to work hours they won't get paid for (we're all on salary). We spent most of the meeting arguing about it.
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    Font - Edit: I didn't add it to the post because of character limits. My colleagues and I are all supervisors. I have a mentor who's a VP in a different unit and he's advising me on the promotion process and steps I need to take. He also told me what to expect if I get promoted so I'm going into this fully informed. Basically my manager worked about 50-60 hrs a week because it was he's always on call. I can go into more details but it'll just bore you. Feel free to ask and I'll update if I see t
  • 05
    Font - Edit 2: This has been brought up many times. I won't get promoted just because I hustled for a month or two. Management looks over my entire career and time at the company. However, my mentor told me to think of it as having an important project coming up and what will I do to complete it. He said my VP and Manager don't expect me to keep up the production but are looking to see who is climbing for the open position. He goes on to say with everything being equal (skills, knowledge, etc) t
  • 06
    Font - Owned ByACrazyCat 3 hr. ago Your not cheating but you are at risk of being expected to give up your free time outside of work once (or if) you get the promotion. ΝΤΑ 9.5k Reply Share
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    Font - jessiyjazzy123 - 2 hr. ago Exactly. They are going to expect this kind of productivity to continue. So, get used to working until 10 everynight and not enjoying weekends if you get the promotion. NTA 3.0k Reply Share
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    Font - whyaPapaya 3 hr. ago • Nta, not cheating, but it's likely to burn yourself out over time. Are you planning on keeping up this pace and volume of work in perpetuity? If yes, then it's fine. But if it's just a temporary thing, you may find yourself overwhelmed in the future It's a choice many people make at your age, but keep in mind, it's typically hard to successfully navigate scaling back later in career if you do choose to have a family, so that may be a cause of stress and disappointme
  • 09
    Font - thatvolleyballsetter. 3 hr. ago Not cheating, but you are working against your own best interests. First, if word gets around that most/all of your teammates don't like you, a promotion to lead that same team isn't gonna show up. Second, unless the manager of the team continues to complete these projects, then proving you can carry more work doesn't get you into a management role. It makes you "mission essential" in your current role. Alternately, if the manager does continue to complete
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    Font - TheCopperSparrow - 3 hr. ago YTA. You're not "cheating" but people like you are why workplaces think it's perfectly appropriate to expect people to take work home and do extra work for free. So yeah, thanks for making it easier for companies to pressure people into thinking things like wage theft is OK. Reply Share 1.5k
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    Font - scoobyduhh 2 hr. ago He definitely is also skewing production numbers with this increased workload. They will expect this productivity to continue and when it doesn't, he will get his entire team in hot water. People like this annoy me. Reply Share 593
  • 12
    Font - Captain MalForever - 3 hr. ago Certified Proctologist [21] YTA This perpetuation of the idea that in order to get a promotion, you have to work more and more hours, above and beyond your contract, is toxic and as you have seen, only leads to animosity and will ultimately lead to burnout. 764 Reply Share
  • 13
    Rectangle - BreqsCousin 3 hr. ago Yeah the problem is not that it's "cheating" the problem is that you're promoting unhealthy expectations. 274 Reply Share
  • 14
    Font - Mysterious_Megalodon · 3 hr. ago NAH. Silly to say it's cheating. But with that said, I wouldn't promote you for being ahead of the rest of the class. I would promote you for bringing the rest of the class along with you. And I don't mean by encouraging them to work more hours. Once you're the manager, your own ability to produce means nothing compared to your ability to influence the production of others. And it doesn't sound like you're off to a good start if you've already made them al
  • 15
    Font - SmartyChance. 3 hr. ago NTA, but.... Hustle culture is a sickness. Know that companies and bosses will happily extract everything they can from you, praise you for your loyalty and dedication to the company...and fire you (for no reason, with no notice, no severance unless required under law) and not feel one bit bad about it. Also, be sure to document how your knowledge, skill, and ability make you an outstanding candidate for the job. Think ahead - will these colleagues become direct re
  • 16
    Font - Time to polish up the people skills. You need them on your side. Start showing them you can be a leader. Advocate for them. Help them get what they need. Don't give up on the new role, just pick up the people part. They need to know you are not stepping on them, you are stepping up for them. 366 Reply Share

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