- “Quiet promotions”—where employees take on more responsibility without a pay raise—are becoming increasingly common as companies manage tighter budgets. While it is cost-effective for employers, it often leads to employee burnout and higher turnover, especially among early-career workers like Gen Z. Experts recommend naming added responsibilities, tracking impact, and negotiating compensation—or risk “normalizing unpaid advancement.”
Meet the budget-friendly promotion: more work, same pay.
It’s a common phenomenon for many workers. One day, you’re updating spreadsheets and shadowing meetings. Next, you’re suddenly scheduling boardroom calls and taking on a team of your own. The responsibility piles on, but your paycheck still looks grim when it comes to splurging on the weekends. That’s a “quiet promotion.”
And as more economic concerns drive smaller compensation budgets, silent workload changes are becoming more common.
The reason? It’s not only cheaper than a formal promotion, but also a discreet way to test performance. Separately, quiet promotions could also enable leaders to be non-committal, according to Selena Rezvani, workplace expert and author of Quick Leadership: Build Trust, Navigate Change, and Cultivate Unstoppable Teams.
“It’s basically a way to test-drive someone’s leadership without committing to a title,” Rezvani tells Fortune.
“Sometimes leaders are ‘kicking the can’ on real pay or promotion discussions (and decisions), while still piling on responsibilities. Dodging hard conversations creates more confusion and resentment; on the other hand, naming issues head-on builds trust,” Rezvani added. “It’s a sign of an avoidant culture.”
For employees they may want to have those tough conversations sooner rather than later. Next year, U.S. employers are expected to grant employees raises that are largely in line with what they got this year, according to a Payscale report released last month. The report predicts workers will see their base pay go up by 3.5% next year, on average, down 0.1% from this year.
What employees could do when facing ‘quiet promotions’
Quiet promotions could happen to a wide range of employees, but Gen Z workers, eager to land any role they can get, could be more vulnerable to being asked to do more than they were hired to do—or can even handle. Resvani pointed out three calls to action to help combat added responsibility:
Name it: “Call out the added responsibility as leadership, even if your employer won’t yet. You might start with, ‘I’ve been leading this project for 6 months…I’d like to talk about what that means more formally.”
Track it: “Document scope, outcomes, and impact. Then communicate it. Quiet promotions tend to go unnoticed unless you make them visible and frame them as value-adding.”
Leverage it: “Bring it up in check-ins, at review season, or when talking about career paths. It’s proof you’re already operating at the next level.” Another effective way to manage taking on extra responsibilities without formal recognition or pay is simply to say no when appropriate, according to Rezvani
“The real risk is accepting every quiet promotion without negotiation. When you do, you’re practically guaranteeing burnout, not to mention normalizing unpaid advancement.”
“A smart move is to say, ‘I’m excited to take this on. Let’s discuss how my role and compensation can reflect this expanded scope.”
Employers: Underhanded promotions could backfire
Saying no to extra responsibility can feel impossible for Gen Zers eager to prove themselves and build experience early in their careers. But Rezvani stressed that doesn’t mean you should say yes to everything.
“Turning it down might slow your path at this company, but it doesn’t erase your value elsewhere,” Rezvani added. “If you sense your bankability is dwindling at your current company, it’s time to launch a stealth search of your own.”
Plus, saying no could be the difference between staying put and walking away altogether.
For bosses, giving employees a promotion without pay may seem like they are signaling career growth, but ADP research shows it can backfire. Within just a month of the new responsibilities, nearly 29% of employees leave their company, compared to only 18% who would have left without the promotion.
A new survey reveals a troubling disconnect in American workplaces: Nearly half of U.S. workers believe their managers fail to grasp the full scope of their contributions. This finding comes from the 2025 "Workplace Perception Gap Survey" conducted by The Predictive Index, a software and analytics firm.
The fallout? Employees often feel undervalued and overlooked. They may go unrecognized for their efforts or miss out on promotions because superiors underestimate their unique value—especially in roles plagued by ambiguity. Sales roles, for instance, lend themselves to clear metrics like weekly or quarterly revenue growth. In contrast, a corporate communications manager might handle everything from internal memos to crisis PR, making it harder to pin down "success."
Without a solid grasp of a role's impact, managers can't define excellence, pose the right questions, or track meaningful progress. The result: sagging morale and disengaged teams.
Real-World Echoes from the Trenches
Karim Adib, PR manager at Search Atlas—an AI-powered SEO automation company—vividly recalls this frustration from his early career. "It felt like you'd hit a milestone and get zero props for it," he says. "But slack off because it seemed pointless? Suddenly, you're the slacker."
Now in a leadership role, Adib is determined to spare his team the same fate. He admits to human blind spots but leans on structured safeguards. His three go-to strategies:
1. **Establish clear quarterly goals with weekly progress checks.** "Employees need to know if they're crushing it or off track—not left to guesswork," Adib explains.
2. **Foster a true 'no stupid questions' culture.** "You can't build encouragement if folks are too scared to clarify their tasks," he notes. "Open doors ensure crystal-clear communication across the board."
3. **Schedule routine check-ins for support, kudos, and candid talk.** "I use these to celebrate wins, spot hurdles early, and make sure everyone feels seen," he says.
Peter Murphy, founder and CEO of Track Spikes—a Wyoming startup crafting track-and-field footwear—has straddled both sides of this divide. "I've toiled in jobs where my work was a black box to everyone else. It drained me—you start questioning if anyone's even noticing the wins."
At his company, Murphy prioritizes transparency on their slim team. "Visibility is everything," he says. Each role ties to shared metrics, like reduced cart abandonments, faster shipping, or boosted customer loyalty. He urges managers to roll up their sleeves: Understand the nitty-gritty to deliver feedback that lands.
"Forget vague 'nice work' pats," Murphy advises. "Say, 'I saw how you streamlined that chaotic workflow—it shaved hours off our week.' That sticks."
#### The Liking Trap: Bias in Performance Reviews
Benjamin Ellis, CEO of U.K.-based SocialOptic (a software outfit focused on social analytics), flags another pitfall: the sneaky link between personal rapport and perceived performance.
"Managers who vibe with an employee often inflate their ratings," Ellis observes. "It's mutual, too—if someone's a chronic headache, fondness fades fast."
This bias sneaks into 360-degree reviews as well. "Tight-knit colleagues or old pals might overrate based on familiarity, turning peer feedback into a high-school popularity poll," he warns. "Design and run them with rigor to avoid that."
Effective assessments, per Ellis, hinge on two pillars: Evaluators must have the chops to judge the specific role (tricky when bosses aren't in the weeds), and the process must scrub out personal skews. "Top-tier evals nail both," he concludes.
In a world of hazy roles and rushed oversight, these insights underscore a simple truth: Seeing—and saying—your team's real impact isn't just nice; it's essential for thriving workplaces.
Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of hedge fund Bridgewater, warned that gold and non-fiat currencies are likely to become more popular safe stores of value while major currencies face pressure from rising global debt.
Speaking at the FutureChina Global Forum 2025, he said that the U.S. government’s heavy spending and debt are “unsustainable” and could trigger a fiscal crisis that undermines the global monetary system.
Indeed, Dalio said that years of overspending have left the U.S. with debt that is about six times greater than its revenue. To keep up, the government will need to borrow another $12 trillion to cover a $2 trillion deficit, $1 trillion in interest costs, and $9 trillion in maturing debt.
However, global markets don’t have the appetite to buy that much, which creates a supply-demand imbalance. Meanwhile, President Donald Trump’s tax-and-spending package is set to add another $3.4 trillion in debt over the next decade.
Dalio explained that when governments borrow excessively without cutting back, people lose trust in their currencies, thereby making gold and alternatives more appealing.
Younger Workers Will Win the AI Economy
Artificial intelligence is slowing hiring for junior roles, but history suggests young workers are often best placed to adapt to new technology.
AI and Young Workers: The Career Ladder Concern
The narrative that AI will permanently harm young workers' career prospects may be premature. While recent studies show job growth has slowed for 22-25 year olds in AI-exposed fields like software development, experts remain divided on whether this represents a long-term threat or temporary adjustment.
The Current Situation
Harvard and Stanford research suggest employment is declining for younger workers in AI-applicable roles. The theory: older workers have built expertise and judgment that AI can't replicate, while younger workers often handle "mundane tasks" that AI can automate.
Why This May Be Wrong
Historical precedent: Past technological revolutions typically hurt older workers more than younger ones. When desktop computers arrived, older workers struggled with typing and adapting to new systems.
Temporary transition: Companies may be in a "holding pattern," hesitant to hire while figuring out how to integrate AI. As processes get refined, hiring could resume.
Youth advantage: Younger workers are already the heaviest AI users (46% of ChatGPT messages come from 18-25 year olds) and show greater adaptability to new technologies.
Early Signs of Adaptation
Some companies are reversing course. Shopify now hires more interns because it uses AI creatively. Universities are revamping curricula, with schools like American University's Kogod requiring more soft skills courses and integrating AI throughout 90% of classes.
At the University of Toronto, marketing students now implement AI-powered campaigns as one-person agencies rather than just writing traditional marketing plans.
While AI poses real challenges to knowledge work, the idea that it will permanently sever the career ladder for young workers contradicts historical patterns. Young workers' AI fluency and adaptability may prove more valuable than expected as organizations figure out how to work with artificial intelligence.
The current job market difficulties for recent graduates may reflect uncertainty rather than permanent displacement.