A business coach’s recent TikTok has sparked debate about workplace expectations after he argued that highly competent employees are often rewarded with additional work rather than recognition or higher compensation.
According to @zerodollarcoaching, managers and business owners frequently assign important, urgent tasks to their most capable employees because they trust them to respond quickly and complete the work efficiently.
Those employees are also often the first people contacted during an emergency. Managers know they can get the job done, while less experienced workers may not yet have the skills or knowledge to handle the same responsibilities.
@zerodollarcoaching Your best employee is probably doing everyone else’s work. That’s what happens when being dependable becomes the reward for being dependable. Great employees don’t usually hate hard work. They hate watching mediocre employees get less work because nobody trusts them to handle more. #WorkplaceCulture #EmployeeManagement #Leadership ♬ original sound – Zero Dollar Coach
In the video, he said, “Somehow, being really good at your job turns into doing everybody else’s job, too.” The business coach said managers and company leaders often justify giving extra assignments to employees who are already carrying heavy workloads.
He used a hypothetical employee named ‘Sarah’ to explain how the pattern develops. Sarah completed her assigned task, took care of another task that nobody had been asked to complete, helped with a colleague’s work and trained a new employee.
According to the TikToker, the reason Sarah was given so many responsibilities was that “Competence is a disease we’re trying to spread.” He then contrasted her situation with that of a colleague named ‘Mike.’
The coach described Mike as doing just enough to avoid being fired while relying on Sarah for help. He argued that companies make a mistake when they allow this imbalance to continue.
TikTok Users Share Experiences With Workplace Burnout
The business coach said employees are often given more responsibilities instead of fair compensation or recognition for their efforts. He described the situation as “backwards” and argued that the added workload can become mentally and physically exhausting.
He said, “We accidentally teach our best people that excellence comes with a penalty.” He also argued that employees who perform less consistently can avoid additional duties by keeping expectations low.
Image Credit: TikTok | @zerodollarcoaching
The TikTok video went viral, receiving 1.4 million views and 73,000 likes as of publication. Several users said they recognized the experience of becoming the ‘go-to’ employee and taking on extra work.
One user described what happened after setting a boundary around their workload, writing, “(The) worst part is, when you finally set a boundary, you get fired.” Other users who identified with the ‘Sarah’ example said similar experiences had led them to quit their jobs.
Commenters also described taking on additional responsibilities without receiving extra compensation or recognition. Their responses raised broader questions about how employers should reward employees who consistently assume more work.
The Daily Dot could not independently verify the claims shared in the TikToker’s account. The details above reflect the views and examples as described by @zerodollarcoaching on TikTok.
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