Follow This Advice to Make Sure You’re Not Being Taken Advantage of at Work

A terrible boss can make a job unbearable, especially if they have no problem taking advantage of employees.

While being asked to take on additional duties from time to time is par for the course at most companies, feeling unappreciated or like your good will is being exploited is not supposed to be part of anyone’s job.

When you are being undervalued or your hard work isn’t getting noticed, alarm bells should be going off inside your head. A good supervisor understands how showing appreciation can motivate employees, inspiring them to go above and beyond without being told. Simply put, treating people right isn’t just good principles, it’s also good business.

If you aren’t sure if your boss is taking advantage of you, consider the following factors.

More overtime than you can handle

To be fair, a lot of managers lead departments that are short-staffed, and they must come up with ways to maintain productivity using the staff they have.

However, if work is regularly eating into your nights and weekends, you need to get back those hours of personal life by telling your boss you’re starting to feel burned out.

It should be noted there are certain situations where long hours are to be expected. In the healthcare and construction industries, for instance, overtime and shifts lasting longer than eight hours are the norm. Also, people with low seniority are often expected to cover for colleagues when they call in sick, which results in a lot of overtime until you move up in seniority.

A raise or promotion that never comes

If your supervisor consistently promises that a pay raise or promotion is nearby, but does not produce, you’re taken advantage of.

If you put off discussing the issue, you might be harming your long-term earning potential, because your next job offer will likely be influenced by your current pay rate.

Unless there is a company-wide freeze on raises, remind your boss you have talked about getting a raise in the past, and if you get a fuzzy response, set expectations for getting a raise in the next three months or half-a-year.

You could say, “I’m not threatening to leave, but since we both agree I deserve this raise, I’d prefer to set a date for when I can count on it coming through.”

Not getting credit for good work

Your efforts makes your boss look good, and when they don’t acknowledge your contribution to others, it can feel like they are stealing praise from you.

Resist the temptation to accuse your boss of outright theft, professionally remind them of your contributions, and say you didn’t think you got the proper credit for your work. Maybe the lack of recognition was a simple oversight. If it wasn’t or if it happens again, it may be time to look for a new job.

At Career Concepts, we help talented professionals get out of unpleasant work situations all the time. Check out the open positions that are available on our job board and start looking for your new job today!