Employee explains why hard work is absolutely futile in today's corporate economy

In numerous companies, the immense value of hard work is frequently overlooked or unappreciated, despite it being the driving force behind productivity and success. This lack of recognition undermines the acknowledgment of individuals' contributions and diminishes motivation and job satisfaction. One such story of an undervalued employee was shared on Reddit by u/burner_boy69420. The person talks about a manager who worked hard at their company for six long years but never got promoted or got any rewards for their hard work.

According to them, the manager was so efficient at his job that senior employees praised him for being an ideal fit for the role and ensuring a smooth workflow. The person adds, "But then I realized he quit because he was never promoted." They talked about how one of the area supervisors at the same organization got promoted after only working for two years as a manager.

They attribute this quick promotion to the fact that the other manager's father was friends with the company's owner. The person reflects on the unfairness of the situation, saying, "So on the one hand, you have a guy who was a perfect manager, always showed up on time and did his job for six straight years. On the other hand, you have a guy who was never even a manager but went straight to the supervisor position because he had connections."

They then pinpoint the sad reality of working hard for little more than half a decade and not getting anywhere career-wise. The post ends unoptimistically, with the author saying, "There is no use following the rules, listening to management, or being a good employee. Most good work goes unnoticed, and all good work goes unrewarded."

People relate to the harsh reality of most jobs, with the post having almost 500 comments and 3.9k upvotes on the platform. u/here_till_im_not1188 commented, "Hard work is rewarded with more hard work." Another user, u/blacklemons_, shared a similar story, "I felt that way before leaving my last job. I put in seven years, only for the director to change to some twitchy fool that had connections and was a good talker. He liked people who would kiss a** and I was put out of the inner circle because I wouldn't."

They further added, "I put up with it for another two years and left feeling like everything I had worked hard for amounted to s*** in the end. I could have been closer to family and done s*** that actually mattered to me, but I wasted those years of my 20s and 30s on f*** all. The whole idea of 'work hard, and you will be recognized' is a lie."