Have you ever stopped to think about what it means to ‘meet expectations’ at work? For many of us, it’s a given that if we’re doing our job well, we’ll get a pat on the back and maybe even a raise. But what if I told you that in some companies, simply meeting expectations isn’t enough? In fact, it’s almost like it’s not good enough at all.
I was shocked to hear from a friend who works at a big-name company on the West Coast that anyone who gets a ‘meets expectations’ review doesn’t get any salary increments – not even a dollar. It’s like, what’s the point of even having expectations if meeting them doesn’t get you anything? Shouldn’t meeting expectations be, well, the bare minimum?
But no, it seems that nowadays, you have to exceed expectations just to get a measly 1% raise, and sometimes just to keep your job. It’s like the bar is constantly being raised, and it’s exhausting.
I’m curious, did this used to happen pre-Covid? Was meeting expectations always not good enough, or is this a new phenomenon? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
It’s time to rethink what we consider ‘good enough’ at work. Meeting expectations should be the starting point, not the exception.