Getting on at work
without becoming
someone else.

Good work is not a promotion strategy

A lot of men believe that if they keep their head down and do the job properly, it'll be noticed. It's a decent moral position and a poor professional one. Being reliable makes you valuable where you are, which is an argument for leaving you there.

Promotions usually go to whoever the decision-maker can most easily picture in the role. That's not about politics or self-promotion. It's about whether anyone has seen you do the next job, even in small ways.

Three things that actually move the needle

1. Find out what the next role is measured on

   Not the job description, but rather what the person above you is judged by. Budget, retention, safety record, turnaround, whatever it is - figure it out. Then, do visible things that touch those numbers.

2. Make the decision easy, months early

   Volunteer for the awkward job nobody wants that spans two teams, train someone, run the thing that keeps going wrong. Three of those and you're the obvious candidate before a vacancy even exists.

3. Say it out loud to the right person

   "I'd like to be doing X in eighteen months. What would I need to show you between now and then to achieve this?" That single sentence puts you on a list you were not previously on. Don't worry about it coming across as arrogant; it shows your employer that you know are motivated and focused.

When the job is fine and you're bored

Oddly enough, this can be much harder to talk about, because there's nothing to complain about. Decent pay, alright people, nothing wrong, yet Sunday evening has a weight to it.

Before concluding that you need a different career, check the cheaper explanations. Boredom at work is usually one of four things:

• No progress — you've mastered it and stopped learning. Fixable inside the same job
• No autonomy — being told how, but not on your terms. Speak to your line manager and explain how you can do the same (or more) whilst being given autonomy and responsibility
• No line of sight — you can't see who your work helps any more. Spend time to reflect and see if your projects can be adjusted so they can create real and tangible help
• Nothing outside it — the job is carrying too much meaning and you need to create purpose on your own time

That last one catches a lot of men out. If work is the only place you get progress, mastery and status, it has to supply everything — and can often lead to disappointment. Sometimes the fix isn't a new job; it's having something else.

Enjoying it again

The parts of work men report enjoying are consistent: being good at something, teaching someone, finishing a difficult thing and the people around them. Almost nobody names the pay, once it's enough.

So the practical move is to get more of those four into the week you already have — take the apprentice, run the tricky job, fix the thing properly. Take initiative, rather than being reactive and passive.

And if it genuinely is the job

Sometimes it is. Leave properly rather than dramatically: work out what you're moving towards, what you can afford, and what the first three months look like. Keep your relationships within your current colleagues and manager, so you have contacts, friendships and a glowing reference!