‘Slackers are annoying but harmless’: Why high-performers are getting laid-off in corporate

Slacking at work may actually have its advantages when it comes to corporate layoffs, according to career coach Kelly Volkmar, who pointed out one “very frustrating” reality: “the slacker Bob sitting next to you is actually safer than you as a high performer”.

On her Instagram @corporateclarity.career, she explained in a short video: “It’s because slackers are very annoying, but they’re harmless. They don’t ask questions, they don’t challenge decisions, they don’t expose problems. High performers do. They push, they question things, and they move fast — and that creates pressure. And pressure exposes where the system is broken.”

She added, “The irony is slackers p*ss off high performers, but high performers threaten leaders.”

Most commenters agreed, with some self-described “high performers” saying that after doing more and getting scolded for asking questions or challenging what they felt were bad decisions, they’ve learned “not to work so hard”.

One commenter said, “I used to be a high performer — waste of my time, got paid the same for doing much less and less stress.”

Another shared, “My mentor told me ‘you get paid the same whether you’re a superstar or you make mistakes all the time’.”

A third added, “It took me a long time to realise the best thing to be in corporate America is borderline invisible. Just do your job well enough and consistently enough that people forget you exist. Then once or twice a year (just before a comp review cycle) emerge from obscurity with a good idea… then disappear again.”

Others also mentioned mastering “the subtle art of minding my own business”, with one commenter sharing that after realising his extra efforts weren’t always rewarded, he now sticks to “no drinks after work, no co-worker friends on social media, no office politics, no cliquish behaviour”.

“Some people’s entire identity is their corporate job. If there is enough genuine fulfilment in your life outside of work, you won’t be so emotionally invested. So long as no one messes with your schedule and you aren’t micromanaged, perform your job to the best of your ability and clock out,” he added.

Several others shared that, unlike high performers, slackers are the ones getting one to two per cent salary increases, with some describing them as ‘pragmatic survivors’ who have learned the rules of the system and are getting paid to do enough while being politically competent.

Labour market exchange data from Malaysia’s social security organisation (PERKESO) appears to support what Ms Volkmar said and what netizens observed.

In January, 53.7% of job cuts in Malaysia were high-skilled workers. The numbers even edged up to 54.4% in February.

In the little red dot, the Ministry of Manpower’s (MOM’s) latest labour market report also showed an uptick in layoffs among professionals, managers, executives and technicians (PMETs) compared to the broader workforce, surpassing pre-recession norms. /TISG

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