'The company dangled an unreachable carrot': Employee laments their impossible targets that were only designed to make their team work harder for nothing

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Brad Dickson • Managing Editor
Apr 27, 2024 10:00 AM EDT

There's this interesting thing that happens with KPIs, targets, and business focus. Sure, putting impetus into these areas will usually result in increasing them, creating the image of a larger, healthier, more profitable business. But what is the cost? More, importantly, where is the cost? You're not looking for it, you're not tracking it, and you won't know what it is and probably won't even know where it was or how to measure it until it's too late.

This happens all the time in businesses where leaders are focusing on a singular target through performance indicators and incentives, encouraging their staff to improve and move the bar for this one singular metric. Improvements will be taken as proof that there were inefficiencies in the way workers were doing their roles that they've now figured out or that they weren't working hard enough. When in reality, the truth is that other priorities have fallen by the wayside. Now, management expects the workers to keep up with these impossible standards they have set for themselves, resulting in a vicious feedback cycle that self-perpetuates as management pushes to improve this one metric.

You eventually end up with this really nice-looking facade of a business when presented from this one angle, while the rest of the structure has rotted away… right down to the foundations.

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  • This was the area of discussion in this online thread, where this worker shared their experience of being tricked into chasing impossible targets, all for a carrot on a stick that was bound to remain just out of their reach. Burned out and disheartened from the unsustainable workload and at having fallen short of the targets, they were now faced with the realization that not only had they gotten nothing extra in return… Now, the team has set unrealistic expectations for management regarding what their performance should look like.

  • 01
    "We were told we would get an additional bonus..."
    via Jason Goodman
  • 02
    We were told we would get an additional bonus if we hit an aggressive sales goal by 4/30... Guess what happens next? Spoiler: We worked insanely hard all month, put in extra hours, & are only halfway to the goal with only one week left. The goal was to 3x last month's sales. Someone ran the numbers and realized it was never possible to hit the goal with our current
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 03
    userbase/mau's. Basically they dangled the carrot to get us to work extra for free. We did better in sales than we would have otherwise this month but it didn't come without sacrifice. Either way, now they have the extra sales & don't have to pay anything extra to the people who made it happen.
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 04
    Part of me still wants to continue trying to hit the goal just to prove them wrong & make them pay up, but I have no idea how to make it happen. Anyway, mostly just burnt out, disappointed, and needed to vent. TL;DR company dangled an unreachable - carrot. employees chased real hard for it. company now has two carrots. employees are left hungry without one.
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 05
    jibunkakume 15 hr. ago What you're actually doing is setting the metric of what can be obtained so it can be the new normal. I highly suggest that all work stops now 3.1k Reply Share . . .
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 06
    ayamrik 12 hr. ago A relative of mine made this experience (working in retail): A certain work process was deemed "done in time" if finished in 45 minutes but was done a little faster than that. They got a young and fit temporary worker that did this work in about 20 minutes. After he left and the others returned to this work with needing about 30 minutes (they learned from the younger worker how to do it a little smarter), the boss was demanding that all workers should be able to do it in 20 mi
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 07
    MasticatingElephant · 9 hr. ago I got fired from my first job for this. They said I had three hours to do a task, I consistently got it done in 2:20 or 2:30, they let me go because I couldn't do it in two hours.
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 08
    ■ Demi180 17 hr. ago • Have everyone just stop working until 4/30. You've already exceeded last month's goal or whatever, right? You're good, you're done. 817 Reply Share
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 09
    Quirky_Olive_1736 · 15 hr. ago Part of me still wants to continue trying to hit the goal just to prove them wrong & make them pay up The carrot works. ↑ 201 Reply Share
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 10
    HMS_Slartibartfast 18 hr. ago Talk to your coworkers. Get the numbers passed around. Company will do this again. Just all be ready to keep doing your normal work so the numbers don't go up. Company wants to blow smoke, let them. Just don't buy into it. 72 Reply Share Heads_Or_Tayls OP 11 hr. ago Most of the team is aware now. And it's surprisingly made people feel better. I think people were feeling guilty, or that they could have done better.
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 11
    Civ6Ever 12 hr. ago Lessons we learned: Always do the math first. Measure twice, cut once. Actions we can take: Spread the word that this was never possible and ask everyone to take a week off. There's no need to work harder now because you're at a monthly surplus. Make up the time you lost to the community around you and to yourself. 44 Reply Share • • •
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 12
    Heads_Or_Tayls OP 11 hr. ago Yup, team is mostly all aware. Everyone kinda came to the conclusion on their own. Those who didn't feel relieved now. 17 Reply Share
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 13
    WizardLizard1885 16 hr. ago youre in sales. if it took 3 weeks to only get halfway theres 0 shot u can do the other half in a week. take a week off, if sales is the way i remember it they wont do 78 Reply Share • Heads_Or_Tayls OP · 11 hr. ago Worse. I'm in marketing haha. 21 Reply Share • • •
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls
  • 14
    cheedle 5 hr. ago • you just set an unrealistic standard to upper management showing "what's possible if everyone try's real hard ALL THE TIME" whatever numbers you achieve which will become the new benchmark. Congrats you all got swindled Reply Share
    via u/Heads_Or_Tayls

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employment job jobs Horrible Bosses work workplace antiwork workplace-stories employment-discussion workplace discussion employment issues in the workplace
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