Have you ever taken on work outside of your job duties for no extra pay, benefits, or recognition? If you answered yes, you might have landed yourself a quiet promotion. But don't worry, you're not alone. Many of us, myself included, have taken on extra responsibilities for a variety of reasons, including gunning for an actual promotion or building our skill set, or deeper motivations like proving our worth and demonstrating that we belong.

A friend of mine working in city government recently shared how they took on extra duties, expecting that this would lead to a formal promotion. It was exhausting and required them to make significant changes to their schedule in addition to forgoing other professional opportunities. Fortunately, they ultimately applied for and were promoted into the role that they had already been performing. That outcome, though gratifying, is not the norm. For many, what starts as ambition ends in burnout and resentment.

Early in my career, I was a foster care case manager, a position rife with turnover, burnout, and low morale. I was good at my job, and the consequence of that was when other case managers quit and their cases were redistributed, I was one of the people who got more cases. It felt like a recognition of my skills but not in a way that would have ensured my continued engagement and productivity. And that's because none of us who took on extra cases received a promotion or increased pay (and we were already paid low to being with), nor did we have any extra support to manage the increased caseloads. At the same time, the agency lacked a concrete plan to address the high turnover rates. The end result? Continued employee churn.

With recent layoffs across sectors, the issue of quiet promotion is as pertinent as ever. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 1.6 million people in the U.S. were laid off or discharged in June 2025, with 10 MILLION layoffs or discharges so far in 2025. Today’s edition explores the widespread trend of quiet promotion (also known as dry promotion) and how it undermines wellbeing, inclusion, and trust at work

Data Highlights: Quiet Promotion is All Too Common

📊According to a 2022 survey, 78% of employees have experienced a quiet promotion, meaning more responsibilities with no raise or new title. 67% took on work after a coworker left. 57% felt manipulated by the extra burden. → Fast Company, Leaders need to take responsibility and stop giving quiet promotions. Here’s how

🏆High-performing individuals often don't get formal promotions unless they actively communicate their achievements. Hard work alone isn’t enough. → The Wall Street Journal, Why the Reliable Office Workhorse Rarely Gets Ahead

📉Performance punishment, or burdening high performers without recognition, leads to burnout and disengagement. → Inc. Magazine, 5 Problems With ‘Quiet Promotions’—and 5 Ways to Avoid Them

Equity & Inclusion: Who Feels It Most?

Quiet promotions disproportionately affect marginalized employees, including women, people of color, LGBTQ+ employees, and those with disabilities, which can deepen disparities in recognition, compensation, and perceived psychological safety.

People from marginalized backgrounds often feel pressure to over-perform to prove their worth in workplaces that have historically denied them advancement opportunities. The result is a harmful dynamic where extra labor becomes an unspoken expectation rather than a gateway to promotion.

Without inclusive workplace culture and accountability, the burden of “earning” advancement continues to fall hardest on those who’ve always had to work twice as hard for half the credit.

→ Forbes, Avoiding Dry Promotions That Target Women And Marginalized Groups

Boundary Highlight: More Work ≠ More Value

While some boundaries are firm, most are in a gray area. Our choices will depend on a variety of factors. In the workplace, that gray area often tips in favor of employers rather than the employee. But when employees agree to take on more work without clear boundaries and expectations in place, everyone - including the organization - suffers.

Quiet promotions strain boundaries by:

Obscuring workload expectations, leading to a reduced sense of autonomy
Undermining employees’ trust and sense of belonging
Affecting employees' mental health
Reinforcing unsustainable work norms that pressure employees without empowering them

Law & Policy: Tools To Protect Against Overwork

While there are no laws explicitly banning quiet promotions, unfair labor practices that result in inequitable treatment, especially along race, gender, or disability lines, may violate anti-discrimination or equal pay laws. Other laws like the Fair Labor Standards Act and pay transparency laws may also come into play.

Here are policy actions organizations and employees can take:

Collective bargaining agreements can be used to define job roles clearly and prevent creeping duties without increased pay.
Participatory job design, where employees co-develop their job descriptions and performance metrics, can ensure clarity and fairness.
Transparent compensation frameworks can prevent hidden overwork and reward labor equitably. This can include temporary pay increases for additional duties.
Workload audits by role, department, and demographic data can reveal inequities and identify opportunities for improvement.
Promotion criteria guidelines should be formalized and communicated, with multiple pathways to advancement (not just leadership or visibility roles).

These actions help prevent quiet promotions from being normalized and promote workplaces where recognition, growth, and fairness are intentional.

Take Action: Making Work a Win-Win

✅ Individuals

Document extra responsibilities as they arise and share your wins in structured ways (e.g., during performance check-ins).
Set healthy boundaries, like asking for clear timelines. Your time and energy are not freebies. Explore what type of recognition would align with your extra work and advocate for it.
Leverage your additional work to build your resume and seek out better opportunities.

🏢 Organizations

Audit who is doing the work, use the data to make improvements, and be transparent in your communication about pay and promotion.
Align job descriptions with real responsibilities based on employee input and experience.
Build clear, inclusive promotion pathways grounded in data.

🌍 Systemic

Advocate for pay transparency regulations that discourage hidden workload increases.
Push for systems that standardize how responsibilities translate into titles or compensation.
Change the culture of overwork by normalizing workplaces that support autonomy, flexibility, meaning, and belonging.

Closing Thought

Today's cover quote is a reminder that you get decide what work is worth doing, and you get to decide what excellence means to you. Great workplaces create an environment where those choices are possible and supported.

“Excellence isn’t about working extra hard to do what you’re told. It’s about taking the initiative to do work you decide is worth doing.” Seth Godin

While quiet promotion may feel like a sign of trust or competence, it’s really a misalignment of reward and effort. If we value employees as human beings, we must move toward systems that uplift rather than quiet our contributions. Let’s rewrite the rules together.