After the economic collapse, many companies stayed afloat with a core group of employees who were the “go-to” experts that they couldn’t live without, after all the other personnel had been let go.

But you know what?

These bosses found out that they could continue to “make do” with the reduced staffing levels and still keep things moving.

After all, overhead expenses (read: salaries) were kept low because a certain group of people were shouldering the burden of the work… and they kept at it, day in and day out.

But beyond just handling additional work that is the direct result of being short staffed, some people simply do more in their jobs than others. Not everyone can be an on-the-job super hero who always seems to have a superhuman ability to get a phenomenal amount of work done without even breaking a sweat.

But these overachievers can and do pay a price.

Sometimes, doing too much can be your undoing.  Some bosses might feel threatened by someone who is super-competent in their job, and worry that you are after their job next. Others might be concerned that you’ll get bored and start looking for new opportunities.  But the worst are the abusers – the supervisors that are only too happy to keep loading you up with additional work… in which case, you become their dumping ground for unwanted or undesirable projects.

And don’t forget about how other employees might perceive someone who is outdistancing them on performance levels.  Co-workers might start seeing you as a “brown-noser” looking for ways to suck up to the boss, or even worse, they are worried about how awesome you are performing because it can cause management to have increased scrutiny to their own activities to see why they aren’t at that same level.

It is a tough situation. You always want to do the best at your job because ultimately, it’s your performance that is what you are judged by in your annual reviews.

And there IS a silver lining of being really good at what you do:  You cultivate a brand of excellence and action, demonstrate competency, and learn new things. But more importantly, you become indispensable.  The job may be eliminated, but you won’t be.

Are you a top performer? What challenges have you experienced by being “best-in-class” at what you do? What benefits have you realized?

Love to hear your stories!